


How Are Your Lungs (Cause Mine Are Aching)

by Goth-Bias (GothBias)



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Author has a potty mouth, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hanahaki Disease, Identity Reveal, Kissing, Lila Rossi's Lies Are Exposed, Mild Language, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Post Season 3, Slow Burn, not miracle queen compliant
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-02-23 15:01:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 43,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23713348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GothBias/pseuds/Goth-Bias
Summary: Ladybug has felt this feeling many times in the years spent fighting akumas. The dropping of her heart to her stomach every time Chat takes a risk. The shaking of her knees every time her miraculous starts beeping. The drying of her mouth every time her lucky charm produces the most ridiculous and unexpected thing ever and everyone is looking to her to figure out what to do.Fear. Ladybug knows fear.Marinette, however, had never felt it quite like this.-With no akuma in sight and people all over Paris coughing up flowers, Ladybug and Chat Noir are on a race against the clock.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 295
Kudos: 440





	1. Petal to the Metal

Ladybug has felt this feeling many times in the years spent fighting akumas. The dropping of her heart to her stomach every time Chat takes a risk. The shaking of her knees every time her miraculous starts beeping. The drying of her mouth every time her lucky charm produces the most ridiculous and unexpected thing ever and everyone is looking to her to figure out what to do.

Fear. Ladybug knows fear.

Marinette, however, had never felt it quite like this.

She’s experienced the type of fear most teenage girls experience (if you exclude any Ladybug related fear). Fear of rejection, fear of failing that test, fear of hurting the feelings of Luka, and some other things she can’t even think up right now.

None of that has struck so much fear into her heart as those eleven little words glaring back at her on the television, “People over Paris coughing up flowers with no akuma in sight.”

“As of 3:33 this morning, the first hospitalization occurred, but the victim claims the strange occurrence began only an hour earlier while out with a group of friends. What started out as sore lungs and coughing fits soon dissolved into something more, within the next hour they coughed up what we now know is a flower bud. Not long after several other cases came rolling in. Shocking of all is the apparent lack of an akuma, how or why this is happening cannot be linked to any phenomena at this time-“

Sabine turns off the television from beside Marinette, getting off the couch with a small shake of her head.

“It has to be akuma related dear, don’t work yourself up about it. Ladybug and Chat Noir will have this fixed by dinner time.” Sabine soothes, reassuringly patting Marinette’s shoulder as she passes her to head back towards the kitchen.

It would feel reassuring, if not for Marinette  being  Ladybug, but she can’t quite blame Sabine for something she doesn’t know.

“Thanks maman. I’m gonna run upstairs before I go to school.” Sabine yells back a confirmation and urges her to be quick, but Marinette is already taking the stairs three at a time in her haste to get to somewhere private to talk to Tikki.

“This is bad, this is bad, this is really super bad.” Marinette mumbles, trying to stifle her panic as she shoots through her trapdoor letting it close behind her loudly. Opening her purse, Tikki flies up to eye level with Marinette and softly presses her hand to her nose.

“Everything will be okay Marinette, but you need to meet up with Chat Noir to discuss strategy.”

Marinette’s heart races faster than that time when she accidentally drank one of Nino’s illegal Mexican energy drinks when she was fourteen, “How Tikki? Madame Chamack said it’s not an akuma!”

“I know it’s not, it’s a very old magic. Master Fu will know more than I can tell you, but you and Chat need to be present. I don’t want something this serious to turn into a game of telephone between three people and two kwamis.” Tikki’s blue eyes are kind, but Marinette can see there’s no room to argue with her.

“B-but we can’t be Ladybug and Chat Noir while meeting Master Fu. Tikki that’s so dangerous...” Marinette weakly tries to argue but Tikki keeps shaking her head the longer she talks until she finally just stops.

Marinette knows a losing battle when she sees one.

“That’s exactly why you need to meet up with Chat, you two need to discuss how to go about this.” She says firmly.

Marinette knows Tikki is undeniably right. Even small things that needed to go through both of the kwamis and the heroes ended up confusing at best of times.  Especially  when they can’t seem to agree with one another. Marinette couldn’t imagine trying to bring yet another person into that already confusing dynamic.

She just really hopes a reveal doesn’t have to come from this. She knows a reveal born from a cause like this or an akuma is selfless and best case scenario, but to her she’s always imagined it after the battle when they’re  both  ready. It’s selfish as hell, she knows that, but the kind of life Marinette lives means she can’t afford to be selfish a lot of the time.

Marinette nods hesitantly, “You’re right. I’ll message him on the burner phone to meet me this afternoon.”

“The sooner the better,” Tikki agrees and flies back into Marinette’s bag.

The last big argument between the holders and the kwamis was over the issue of the aforementioned burner phones. In the end, Chat Noir did buy the phones and took precautions to make sure they couldn’t be traced back to them. They rarely, if ever, use them unless there needs to be a patrol reschedule since the Ladyblog covered akuma sightings.

Marinette definitely constitutes this as an emergency moment as she pulls the phone out from its place tucked underneath her mattress.

** L: Can you sneak out this afternoon, we really gotta talk about this. **

She sends the text and stares at her screen intently; if she didn’t leave now she’d surely be late. Gritting her teeth and making a quick decision, she double checks that the volume is off and puts the phone next to Tikki.

There was an unspoken agreement that taking them out in public was asking to get caught with a second phone and raise suspicions, but she needs to be able to contact him during whatever this is that’s going on.

She shakes her head then moves into action, quickly shooting down the stairs and out of the bakery to make the short walk to the school as quickly as she can.

As per usual she runs in the door right as the bell rings. Mme Bustier gives her a quick look and Marinette sheepishly slides into her seat next to Alya. 

She’s grateful that Lila is on one of her ‘trips’ so that she can sit with her best friend with no tension. Over the last year she’s learned to just ignore Lila to the best of her abilities and hang around whoever  isn’t hanging around her when she is there. Weirdly, and luckily enough, that person is usually Adrien.

Once she gets her materials ready and her stuff situated, she tries to find a blond head to stare at the back of and finds no one there. Sure, he has a girlfriend now, and sure Marinette is doing her absolute best to get over him, but there’s some habits she still can’t break.

She catches Alya’s eye and tilts her head at the empty seat in front of them. Alya mouths  _ photoshoot  _ and Marinette nods, turning her attention back to the board.

It’s maybe an hour into class when Tikki pokes her three times hard in the leg. Discreetly unclasping her purse, the little red god tilts her head towards the burner phone. Marinette nods slightly, raising her hand with her free hand as she clasps her purse back closed.

They make eye contact and Mme Bustier calls on her.

“May I use the restroom please?”

After a head nod, Marinette is trying to keep her composure as she semi-rushes to the bathroom and hides in one of the stalls. Opening her purse, Tikki flies out as Marinette pulls the phone out to read Chat’s message.

** C: ya, not busy 2day. guess u saw news? **

** L: I did. Seems like an us thing. **

** C: u can say it, it IS an us thing. **

** L: Okay, it definitely is. Warehouse at 5? **

** C: can do. b good**

Smiling softly to herself, Marinette quickly shoots back a  ‘you too’  as Tikki gets in back in the purse. She puts the phone safely in there with her then makes a show of flushing the toilet and washing her hands, rushing herself back to class.

Sitting in her seat, she smooths her ruffled hair, and prepares for an uneventful school day.

That’s when the coughing starts.

Eyes shooting up from the assignment at the sound, she sees Sabrina trying to smother down coughs in her elbow.

“Maybe you should go to the nurs-“ Before Mylène can even finish her sentence, a cluster of spit-slick purple petals burst out from Sabrina’s mouth. Several startled shouts and screams fill the room. Chloé scrambles to pat Sabrina’s back as more petals force them past her lips, tears falling onto the already wet petals littering the desk. In shock and forcing down the sick feeling rising in her throat, Marinette meets Alya’s fearful gaze.

Class is dismissed for the day and Marinette texts Chat Noir to bump up their meeting by several hours. 

Marinette feigns needing to take a nap and leaves through her balcony as Ladybug, trying to be discreet as she can on her way to the warehouse so not to cause panic. When she drops in through a broken skylight she sees Chat Noir already there, pacing.

His green eyes shoot up and he stills in his steps, sending a weak smile at her. It’s so unalike him, but she knows this whole situation has her feeling not quite like herself either.

“Did you see it yet?” He asks and Ladybug doesn’t even need to think twice about it.

“Girl in my class started coughing and then... petals came tumbling out of her mouth.” Ladybug admits, allowing her shoulders to slump as she leans herself against the warehouse wall.

“I saw it while at work,” he admits, “one minute she was directing me to my next location and the next she started coughing. She’s always been a bit sickly so I didn’t connect it at first... then so many petals.” His voice sounds a bit teary as he recounts this, maybe he’s close to this coworker of his?

“Hearing it on the news is one thing, but seeing it is so much more...” She trails off, not sure how to say it.

“Grotesque?” Chat Noir finishes and she nods, deciding that word is as good as any.

“Anyway, that’s not what we’re here for. Tikki said we need to talk to Master Fu.”

Chat nods, “I figured you would.”

Ladybug catches his gaze and holds it intently, “No Chat.  _ We  _ need to.” She can tell when recognition takes hold by the lighting of his eyes and then the paling of his face.

“Oh. I’ve always wanted a reveal to be after we defeated Hawkmoth...” He admits sheepishly, eyes hidden behind his bangs as he looks down at the ground, kicking his boot at the bare floor.

“I know Chat, me too. That’s why we need to talk, I’m trying to come up with a solution so a reveal isn’t necessary.” She says softly, laying a hand on his shoulder. He looks up at her, cheeks pink, and nods.

“So what’s the plan?”

Ladybug lets her hand drop from his shoulder and begins pacing like he had been earlier. “I’m thinking we should get as close as possible to Master without detransforming, then when we get closer we can walk there without looking at each other? It would be really hard and it would be so easy to slip up, but I’m seeing that as our only option.”

“I would need to wear a disguise anyways, my lady, so if you were to slip up and see me maybe you wouldn’t be able to tell?” Chat replies hopefully.

Ladybug raises an eyebrow, “Why would you be wearing a disguise?”

“Work related things, I can’t say much.” He admits with a sheepish grin, rubbing the back of his neck. 

Ladybug blanched,  _‘what kind of work is Chat into?’_

After his response Ladybug thinks for a little longer, the both of them staring at one another while the gears in their head’s both turn. Ladybug isn’t sure there’s much brainstorming going on in Chat’s mind, but at least he’s pretty.

_Wait_.

“If you wore sunglasses you could close your eyes and let me guide you by the hand. That way I’m in front of you and it’s less likely I’ll see you and with your eyes closed you won’t be able to see me. The sun glasses will work as your disguise and keep people from realizing your eyes are closed.”

Chat’s eyes light up, “You’re so brilliant, just the cat’s meow.”

Ladybug’s small victorious smile is replaced with a playful scowl, “Ugh thought you could do better than that one.”

Feigning hurt, Chat presses a hand dramatically to his chest acting as though he’s been wounded, “My dearest bugaboo-“

Ladybug rolls her eyes, “Here we go.”

Chat continues as though she never said anything at all, “I thought my response was purrfect, although it seems you feline it wasn’t quite your pedigree.” He acts as though he’s wilting, leaning back against a wall and pretending to scramble for balance. He turns his face towards her and playfully sticks his tongue out with a wink.

His antics are swiftly cut off as the entire building trembles around them. Ladybug is quite grateful for the interruption, especially because of the rather goofy smile she had creeping up her mouth at his act and she didn’t want to deal with his teasing when he saw it.

“Duty calls, kitty.” Ladybug says, flicking Chat’s bell as she prepares her yoyo.

“Just on time to interrupt a good moment as well.” The blond pushes himself off the wall and extends his baton to launch himself out the skylight.

“Last one to the site has to bring snacks to patrol!” And he’s off with his signature two-finger salute. Ladybug wickedly grins and takes right off after him, thankful for a problem she knows how to face rather than the unknown of the flowers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My first attempt at a full length fic in a while! This story is meant to take place a year after the end of season 3 but in a universe where Miracle Queen never happened.
> 
> Comments about what you want to see/ what you think are always greatly appreciated!
> 
> -Bias


	2. Rose to the Occasion

Ladybug hates all akumas, becoming an akuma means someone is a victim of their own emotions and that feels icky when she thinks of the fact there is a person underneath if she ends up having to beat the shit out of them.

If there’s any type of akuma she hates most of all though, it’s a love akuma. They always make her feel vaguely uncomfortable in a way other akumas don’t make her feel. Knowing deep down someone’s love troubles made them into Hawkmoth’s puppet reminds her far too much of the many issues she’s had with love the last three years.

Seeing the scowl on Chat Noir’s face when he finally catches up with her, she can only guess he feels the same way.

Motioning for Chat to crouch with her as they land on a nearby roof, they begin observing the akuma before they decide to jump into action.

The akuma hovers roughly three feet above the ground, an elegant wedding gown adorning her figure while the train of her dress drags the ground beneath her. Her eyes are devoid of an iris, and Ladybug knows the sight of haunting white eyes leaking black tears will be in her nightmares that night.

The akuma pulls a few petals out of the bouquet in her hands, gently blowing them in the direction of a couple hiding behind a car.

The woman lovingly cups her partner’s face and says loud and clear, “I slept with your sister.”

Chat whistles lowly, “That’s rough,” and Ladybug’s entire body tenses.

_ It’s not just a love akuma, it’s making people tell the truth. _

So maybe there is  one  type of akuma that Ladybug hates more than the love ones, simply for the fact truth akumas make things so much scarier than they normally are for her.

Love is personal, truth is damning.

The woman’s partner smiles happily as if not learning they’ve been cheated on and responds, “That’s okay, I’ve been in love with my best friend the entire time anyway.” Right as the words are out of the two people’s mouths they pull away from each other like they’ve been burned, an argument breaking out.

Ladybug and Chat make eye contact quickly, panic settling into her chest. If that akuma hits her it’s all over, she’ll say Adrien’s name and he’ll become a target and people will begin to speculate which pigtail wearing female friend loves him and is secretly Ladybug too and  _newsflash_ she’s the only one-

“Hey, bug, it’s going to be okay. I’ll have to be extra careful to take all the hits today to protect your little lover boy.” He softly soothes her under the guise of a joke, grinning at her with his slightly bucked teeth.

“You always know what to say, huh?” She smiles weakly at him, but she does feel miles better.

“I’ve been told it’s one of my many talents,” he dismisses, “so akumatized object is the bouquet.”

Ladybug nods sternly, eyes sharply turning to watch the woman as she blows petals at more people. Not only targeting couples, the akuma blows petals at anyone who crosses her path. The words that came tumbling out of her victims’ mouths were always that related to love, even if it was a lone civilian.

The woman is much quieter than most akumas they face and Ladybug is almost thankful for that. While she’s grateful not to hear her beckoning for the miraculous, it’s almost scarier to watch the haunting woman quietly make her way down the street.

What Ladybug didn’t account for was seeing someone she knows, Kagami’s telltale flash of her red fencing suit catching her eye from where she’s crouched behind a car.

Ladybug thinks the girl is safe enough, then the akuma takes aim.

Chat spots Kagami at the same time as the akuma turns her attention towards her. The blond startles, extending his baton and throwing himself in their direction before Ladybug can so much as pull her yoyo out. She watches with a dry mouth as Chat grasps Kagami in his arms, the petals hitting them both. Shaking her head harshly, she sends herself swinging into action when she sees Chat stumble into a roll, his body curled over Kagami’s as they hit the asphalt hard.

“Ah there you two lovebirds are! Let Vow bring the truth to the front!” The akuma chirps, as Ladybug narrowly misses a bought of petals as she slides under the bouquet and next to Chat and Kagami.

“You two good?” Ladybug asks, fretfully as she begins using her yoyo to make a shield from the petals, blowing them back at the akuma who only sends more flying with not even a crack in her chill.

“I’m a lesbian and don’t know how to tell my boyfriend,” comes tumbling out of Kagami’s mouth and Ladybug flinches, just barely fixing the hiccup in her form. Right after that Kagami gasps and she hears the telltale sign of skin hitting skin, presumably slapping a hand over her mouth.

“I can’t let myself love my girlfriend because I can’t let go of Ladybug.” Chat’s hollow voice follows right after and right after it leaves his mouth she hears him swear harshly.  


Ladybug has never heard Chat cuss before.

Her stomach drops. Chat had offered to take hits from the akuma while having a girlfriend, Ladybug has known about this girlfriend since he _got_ one. How did she miss him implying right in that moment that she wasn’t at risk because he didn’t love her?

“Get Kagami to safety, I’ll try to get the bouquet from the akuma or at least wear her down until you get back.” He directs when she doesn’t say anything, nudging her behind him, beginning to use his baton to block the flowers now.

She thinks of what she just realized and cringes, “Chat-“

“We’ll talk about it later,” he says simply, green eyes meeting hers over his shoulder. She takes a shuddering breath and nods, pulling Kagami in close with her free arm as the other throws her yoyo around a fixture on a nearby rooftop.

As she brings Kagami to a safe spot down the street her mind is ringing with the two truths she just learned. Kagami’s secret, as troubling as it is for her to know as Adrien’s friend, isn’t taking the spotlight in her worries.

Chat still loves her.

They have been working together since they were thirteen, she never thought his infatuation for her would carry until they were sixteen. A year ago he told her he had gotten himself a girlfriend, she thought that had been the end of his feelings for her. Those dreadful words had shattered any semblance of what Ladybug thought was their normal this last year.

She waves Kagami away as she drops down on a road close to a park, rushing herself back towards the akuma as fast as she can with her mind ringing with Chat’s words.

She feels unreasonably guilty.

Any girl would be lucky to have Chat, but she just couldn’t be that girl. Thinking of Chat’s nameless girlfriend and how she unknowingly sabotaged her relationship makes her sick on her stomach.

When she gets close enough to see the fight between Vow and Chat, she shakes away her guilt and puts her work face on.

Chat is hyperactively batting away petals with his baton as he bounds and ducks between cars, causing Vow to swivel and turn swiftly to try to keep up with his movements.

Thankfully, the akuma seems wholeheartedly focused on him. Not so thankfully, Chat is becoming clumsier in his movements as he obviously begins wearing down.

Ladybug smirks to herself and keeps her momentum going, swinging herself right into the bouquet of flowers. She knocks them out of Vow’s hand and sends them sailing to the street below. What she doesn’t account for is the petals to go flying into her face with the force of her kick.

The bouquet hits the ground the same time Chat throws himself into her.

Her mouth moves against her own accord and Chat pulls her in tightly against his chest muffling her confession as he yells, “Cataclysm!”

The bouquet turns to ashes under his hand and the words,  _I love Adrien Agreste_ have never felt more bitter on her tongue.

He lets her go and she clenches her jaw to keep herself from crying, capturing and cleansing the akuma with practiced ease.

Vow becomes a young woman with gorgeous blue eyes and smeared mascara, the bouquet becomes a disheveled bunch of roses and baby breath. Her wedding dress is dotted in black mascara stains and despite her reservations with herself right now, Ladybug kneels next to the collapsed woman, offering her a hand up.

The woman who was previously Vow looks up at her, bottom lip trembling, and weakly says, “What did I do?”

“It’s all okay, let me help you up. What’s your name?” Ladybug tries to soothe, but Chat always does a much better job than her. He hasn’t left yet, standing behind her quietly.

The woman lets Ladybug lift her to her feet, rubbing her face with her free hand to rid of her tears. Ladybug almost jolts when Chat’s hand lands on her shoulder, but when she meets his gaze she tries to ignore the urge to apologize profusely.

She knows it’s not her fault, it’s not like she  meant  to have him love her, but she feels responsible all the same.

Ladybug tears her gaze from his before she actually apologizes.

“Aline.” The woman offers quietly then lets out a hiccup, “But Ladybug how can it ever be okay? He cheated on me on our wedding day.”

“He doesn’t deserve you, I’m so sorry you went through something so awful. At least you learned the truth before having the be legally bound to someone like that,” Ladybug assures the woman. Aline stifles a cough into her elbow and Ladybug feels dread crawl up her spine.

Aline’s blue eyes met hers and she fragilely nods, “I just wanted him to love me.” Once the words pass her lips another cough comes tumbling out of her mouth that quickly dissolves into a coughing fit. Panicking, Ladybug turns to Chat with wide eyes.

“Someone get a medic over here!” Chat calls out to the ambulance, waving them over with his free hand. Ladybug gives a motion meant to say “one moment please” to Madame Chamack and turns back to offer to walk her halfway to meet the medic.

Her head turns; blood red petals tumble from Aline’s mouth onto the concrete.

Chat tugs her back by her shoulder; she collapses against him, ears ringing and bile rising in her throat.

She clenches her eyes tight and presses her forehead against his chest. Red flashes behind her eyelids and she can’t tell whether it was blood or petals she had seen.

Chat’s hands run up and down her spine as he tries to soothe her shaking frame. She can hear him speaking to her, see the medic rushing toward Aline with a stretcher, hear the chattering of the onlookers, and yet she can’t do anything except try to keep herself from upending her lunch on Chat’s suit.

It isn’t until later that Ladybug realizes he was using his body to hide her from the camera crew behind them.

She’s never felt more sick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope this chapter reaches everyone well! If it seems like Ladybug is being hard on herself this chapter, she is, just give her some time.
> 
> Any comments with what you want to see/what you think are greatly appreciated!
> 
> -Bias


	3. Thorny Situation

Marinette isn’t even in her room for five minutes when Tikki brings the burner phone to her from her purse.

Almost entirely exasperated from the day she had, she nearly wants to ignore Chat’s message and just think about everything that went on. The idea tempts her for a moment as she stares at the passcode, but she sighs to herself and unlocks it, if Chat was messaging on the burner phone it’s important.

**C: didn’t get 2 talk, it’s ok if u don’t want 2 but it seemed like u did**

Marinette wishes he doesn’t know her as well as he does so she can tell him she doesn’t want to talk, but at the end of the day she  does  want to talk with him. Communication has become even more important in their partnership over the last year and she isn’t letting that regress just because she feels like she can’t speak about something.

**L: Yes please, you know me well. Thanks for today.**

She sighs and lays back against her bed, tossing the phone opposite of the bed away from her. She rubs the palm of her hand against her tired eyes, fighting back the urge to head to bed before processing the day.

“Today was a lot, Tikki.” Marinette says, turning her head to look at the red god perched on her bed railing with a cookie.

“I know it was, but you did a really good job at taking everything in stride and getting what you needed done. Do you want to talk about it?”

Marinette bites the inside of her cheek and tries to categorize her thoughts in a way she can express verbally without just screaming at the top of her lungs and hoping Tikki understands.

“What Chat said today when Vow hit him... it made me feel really guilty. I’ve indirectly been home-wrecking this unknown girl’s relationship with one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met.” Marinette admits, smooshing her face against the pillow. 

Tikki had been nibbling her cookie the entire time Marinette spoke, but kept an attentive look on her face as she listened.

“That’s not your fault and you _know_ that. Love works in its own way and Chat made his choice when he got in a relationship knowing he still held feelings for you. You have no standing in that.” Tikki says firmly, pointing at Marinette with her half eaten cookie.

“I know that, but I still feel  bad.” Marinette whines, feeling a bit childish. Tikki’s logic is as sound as it comes, but the part of her that wants to take responsibility for every bad thing to ever happen is chanting _’_ _my fault, my fault’_ over and over again.

“Do you blame Adrien for your relationship with Luka failing?” Tikki asks and Marinette shoots upright.

“No! Of course I don’t!” She exclaims, then blinks furiously when she realizes why Tikki used that as an example.

“Oh.”

She smiles fondly, “Yeah, _oh_.”

Marinette huffs, letting her back fall flat against her mattress again. Her eyes stare at the ceiling for a short moment before clamping them closed.

“This flower thing is really scary. I don’t want you to think I’m not taking it seriously because I am. There’s just so much going on right now that I can’t even logically put anything together.” Marinette mumbles, voice cracking.

“It’ll make more sense after you speak with Master, I swear Marinette.” Tikki assures her and it takes everything in the blue eyed girl’s power not to let the tears brewing behind her eyelids fall.

“But what if it doesn’t? What if even with his guidance I fail? I don’t know how this works or how it is spread, I could very well be infected with whatever it is  right now . I was around two people who coughed up the petals, Tikki, what if I get sick?” Marinette stresses, opening her eyes to glance over at her companion with what she knows must be the most pitiful expression she’s ever had on her face.

She’s feeling pretty pitiful, if she’s honest.

Being Ladybug means knowing what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. This situation makes her feel like a fish out of fresh water, there’s no clear path to what needs to be done, only one singular goal that will then define that path.

It scares her, not knowing what to do.

“Marinette, I know barely any more than you do. If I knew anything that could ease your worries I would, but I  can’t.  For now all I can say is that this is of a magic force and that Master will know what to do. You’re not doing this alone, you have Chat by your side.” Tikki assures her and nuzzles Marinette’s cheek.

“You’re right.”

“Well being around as long as I have makes you right about things on occasion.” Tikki teases, before flying off into her birdhouse in Marinette’s window sill.

Sighing to herself, Marinette grabs the burner phone from where she had tossed it and checks the notification bar.

**C: ofc, u shouldn’t have 2 deal w public eye when ure in a state like that. good job w the flying kick tho, that was cool.**

Marinette smiles at his message, reading over it just a few times before responding.

**L: You’re the best partner in the world, I mean it. Tomorrow night around when we normally patrol work for you to discuss today?**

Before she can even lock the phone, her screen lights up with another message from Chat. Looking at the time shows it’s nearly midnight and Marinette can’t help but think it’s funny he gets more punctual with his replies the later in the night it is.

**C: ya should b fine, anything I should bring**

She quickly remembers she showed up to the akuma site first and sends back a speedy reply.

**L: Snacks!**

As an after thought she sends another message to wish him goodnight and tucks the burner phone back under her mattress. Her eyes sting with fatigue as she finally pulls herself onto her side, closing her tired eyes with a soft hum.

Thankful that tomorrow is Friday, Marinette finally stills her mind, and falls asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A slower paced chapter because I felt like the readers and Marinette just need a moment to breathe before I start tossing everything at you left and right.
> 
> Response on this story has been... rough... in comparison to my other works I’ve put out but I still appreciate everyone who is reading and commenting! Thank you so much, you guys motivate me to keep writing this.
> 
> -Bias


	4. What’s Up Buttercup?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check endnotes for content warning!

Marinette wakes up much later than her parents would normally allow her to sleep in on school days. Scrambling out of her bed and rushing to get dressed, she nearly misses her phone vibrating from where she had tossed it in her haste to get up.

“Marinette your phone, it’s your maman!” Tikki urges, lifting the girl’s phone up and handing it to her outstretched hand. She accepts the call before wedging the phone between her shoulder and ear to have her hands free to tug her socks on.

“Sorry for oversleeping maman! I’m getting ready to head out now.” Marinette says, hopping on one foot as she twists her sock straight and hears a soft laugh come through the speaker.

“You don’t have school today, they cancelled it until they can figure out if the flower situation is contagious, remember? I told you at dinner last night. Since you’re up though, dear, do you think you could help in the bakery today?” Sabine informs in an amused tone. Marinette stops struggling to pull on her sock, comically holding her foot while she processes her mom’s words.

“Uh, yeah, of course. I’ll be down in a bit.” She mutters into the phone, dropping her foot back to the floor.

“Take your time! There’s no need to rush.” The phone call ends after that and Marinette’s face flushes red hot in embarrassment. She had been so out of it last night when she woke up from her nap that she must’ve missed being told. Thankfully for her, being scatterbrained isn’t exactly a red flag for her.

She finishes getting dressed and heads down to help in the bakery for the day. She was hoping the bakery would provide her with too busy a mind to worry about her talk with Chat later, but throughout the day she finds it wandering in places that she isn’t ready to touch.

No matter where she went in the bakery her mind kept wandering away from the task at hand. She was absolutely useless in the kitchen, too much tedious work that allowed her mind to go off on its own, causing ridiculous mishaps that could’ve otherwise been prevented.

After far too many bread doughs devoid of air being made while thinking about Chat, Master Fu, Kagami, Adrien, and the entire fate of Paris, her papa tells her to take over the front of the store and have her maman finish for the day since they’re about to close.

Pink cheeked, she scrambles to the front to do just that. Even when she gets situated and begins taking up where her maman left, she’s still taken off guard when Adrien walks through the bakery door, a small yelp passing her lips before she can stop it.

His eyes meet hers and she grins sheepishly, trying to ignore the twisting in her stomach. He returns the grin, quickly heading over to the counter. Normally Marinette wouldn’t have non-work related talks with customers while working, regardless if they’re friends or not, but with closing being so soon the bakery was completely empty anyways.

Since it’s Friday she knows Adrien will be heading over to Kagami’s for their usual date night. It makes her chest hurt when she remembers Kagami’s confession, but she tries to keep her smile unwavering as Adrien approaches. 

“Hey Marinette, could you just pack a dozen box of whatever you guys have left over?” Adrien greets happily, leaning his hip on the corner of the counter.

“Of course! Heading to ‘Gami’s place?” She asks with false chirp, nervously chewing on her bottom lip as she absentmindedly packs him a box.

Adrien’s expression quickly falls into something more model and less authentic. His hand finds the back of his neck and Marinette knows immediately that he’s nervous about something.

“Actually, we broke up.” Adrien admits and although Marinette expected it eventually, it feels like a punch in her gut when he says it.

“I’m so sorry, Adrien, wanna talk about it?” Marinette offers, closing up the box with one hand while she rings him up with the other.

“It’s okay, I know you’re working.” Adrien says, shaking his head as he pays Marinette. Hearing the hesitant way he says this and the way he quickly switched to the model persona she knows that he’s not feeling his best right now. Not that she expects him to, of course, but now she’s dead set on sending him home happy.

“The shop closes in five minutes if you want to wait.” She grins after making a pointed look at the clock.

His fake grin quickly turns into a genuine one of relief, “Thanks Mari.”

In the next five minutes Marinette quickly gets permission to leave as soon as the bakery closed opposed to helping clean up, then with a quick outfit change she’s out the door.

Walking down the street with Adrien, their hands brushing as they walk makes Marinette’s stomach do loops. She feels guilty about it, especially when she knows he’s hurting, but hormones don’t care when the appropriate time to get butterflies near your crush is.

“I can’t exactly tell you the full story,” Adrien admits quietly, “but I’ll tell you my side at the very least.” His green eyes peer quickly to look over at her and Marinette nods at him in understanding.

Of course she already knows Kagami’s side because of the akuma, but he doesn’t know that and she respects that he’s not mentioning it.

After all, it  _is_ common decency and Adrien is a good guy, so she’s not really surprised.

“On my side I just wasn’t putting my all into the relationship. I knew it too, which was wrong, but I just thought that if I kept giving as much as I felt comfortable giving that I would be doing enough. But it really wasn’t, our relationship was like two best friends that occasionally held hands and kissed, if I’m completely honest.” Adrien admits and Marinette can definitely see that thinking back on things.

Adrien has admitted on several occasions that he’s a hopeless romantic, but he never really acted like that with Kagami. She always put it on Kagami not liking attention, but thinking back on Nino and Alya, one of the chillest couples she knows, even they were more highkey than them.

There was an occasional selfie, but they weren’t ever romantic in captions or the comment sections of each other’s pages. Sure, some couples don’t like having a romantic presence online, but Marinette can’t even think of the last time she saw Adrien and Kagami kiss or hold hands in a way friends wouldn’t. It all makes sense knowing that Kagami doesn’t exactly _like_ men and that Adrien wasn’t pushing for anything like that in the first place.

“I can definitely see that, I just always thought Kagami wanted you guys to be lowkey.” Marinette admits, caving and shoving her hands into her pockets.

“I think Kagami would like to be moderately key with someone,” Marinette can’t help but the small giggle at his choice wording, “but I don’t think she would’ve ever wanted to be like that with me. Not that I really gave her much of an option, mind you.”

Marinette nods thoughtfully, “I hear you, for sure. How are you feeling about it?”

Adrien takes in a deep breath and lets it out all at once, “Is it bad if I say relieved?” Catching the obvious shock on Marinette’s face he quickly backtracks, “I feel bad, obviously, we were together for almost a year, but it was mutual. It was just clear to both of us neither of us really wanted to be in it. It was just expected of us so we did it.”

Letting Adrien’s words sink in for a moment, Marinette nods and shoots him a smile. “Not bad at all, hearing you explain it makes sense to me.”

Adrien sighs, giving her a dopey grin Marinette has never quite seen on him before and it makes her cheeks flush unexpectedly. She turns her head and breaks eye contact, willing her cheeks to return to normal.

“How about you and Luka then?” Adrien asks and Marinette nearly trips over herself.

“Me and Luka?” She nearly shrieks, eyes wide as she stares him down.

“Well, yeah, aren’t you guys together?” He asks curiously, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh! No, we aren’t. We went on a couple of dates and he wanted to take things further, but I just couldn’t do it.” She admits, feeling a bit sheepish as she says so.

By now they’ve walked all the way to the park. Adrien motions to a park bench and they both sit down, watching the kids play as they consider the conversation they just had.

Or well, Marinette is considering it, but she’s never quite sure what’s going on behind those green eyes of his.

“Why couldn’t you do it? If that’s not too personal to ask.” Her mouth goes a little dry as she looks over her shoulder to find him staring her down. His eyes have always twisted her inside out in a way no one else can do.

“I’m already in love with someone else.” It’s the closest Marinette has ever gotten to confessing to Adrien and yet her heart races in her chest as if she just came right out and said,  _because_ _I’m in love with you_.

Adrien seems a little shocked at this revelation, his eyebrows skyrocketing into his hairline.

“Wow, I didn’t know about this.” He scratches the back of his neck, grinning sheepishly.

“It just never came up, I guess.” Marinette nervously responds, but grins right back at him.

She feels a bit sick, if she’s honest. All these nerves are making her chest feel a bit tight and going outside when it’s as cool as it was outside without a jacket was a bit of an undersight on her part.

For the next few hours the conversation drifts to different topics, the two skipping over the hard stuff, and going to the stuff that makes them laugh and smile. Tears come to her eyes several times from how hard she laughs and Adrien nearly falls off the bench when Marinette does an impression of that one time Nino came to class high.

When the sun sets, Marinette dismisses herself.

In just a few hours she’s going to be seeing Chat and talking to him about their plan going further and his feelings.

She’s nervous, but her heart feels light after her afternoon with Adrien.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Brief mentions of underage drug use*
> 
> This definitely wasn’t how I planned on this chapter going, but Adrien kinda showed up demanding screen time and who am I to refuse? I actually really enjoyed writing this chapter and I hope it came across well to everyone reading.
> 
> As always comments about what you think/ want to see are appreciated!
> 
> -Bias


	5. Nip it in the Bud

After eating dinner with her parents and talking about her day, she leaves out of her balcony in her spots. The air is near freezing where it hits her exposed face, but the rest of her body is protected by the suit so she does her best to ignore the sting as she swings through the air.

Without even needing to guess, Ladybug heads towards the Eiffel Tower. If the Ladyblog can be trusted, Chat has been spotted sitting there for the last thirty minutes with a bag. Marinette had tried to leave dinner early when she saw he was there knowing how cold it was, but her parents didn’t leave a gap in the conversation for her to excuse herself without acting suspicious.

Of course, as she nears the Eiffel Tower she sees Chat’s eyes before she sees him. Neon green peers at her through the night and Ladybug can’t help the nervous smile that takes over her face.

Touching down on the Eiffel Tower, he holds up the bag and shakes it giddily.

“I brought snacks! From your favorite bakery too.” Ladybug nearly trips off the side of the tower at that as her eyes land on the very familiar logo of her family’s bakery.

She lowers herself to sit, feigning nonchalance as she says, “Oh, I was in the bakery myself today.” Even as she says it she feels her heart race increase so rapidly she fears Chat can see it beating through her suit.

Knowing his civilian self had been so close to hers is like a shot of adrenaline straight to her veins. She was in the back for most of the day and when she worked the front no one came in for those twenty minutes except Adrien. Likely, he came in while her maman was in the front.

Chat’s ears are perked up comically on top of his head, “Wow really? I wonder if we saw each other.”

She smiles and shakes her head, opening up the box to take a macron for herself. Chat spears a croissant on a claw and Ladybug snickers at him.

“Probably not, but it would be so funny if we had. Could you imagine if we’ve spoken in passing as civilians? That would blow my mind.”

Chat grins widely at her and knocks his shoulder against hers, “Yeah right, as if we could hold a full conversation and  not know.”

Ladybug’s face falls a little at that, pausing to finish her mouthful of macron before hesitantly saying, “So speaking of conversations...”

“Yeah, where do you want to start on that?” Chat’s shoulders tense as he asks then relax almost as soon as the words are out of his mouth. He offers her a soft smile rather than the large one he had only moments earlier.

Ladybug’s heart thuds harshly in her chest as she fiddles with her own fingers, “I guess I should start off by saying that I’m really sorry. If I had known you still felt the way you did about me I wouldn’t have acted the way I had been, especially since you have a girlfriend. I don’t want to ruin what you guys have going.”

What Ladybug expects is for him to smile and accept her apology, but his smile turns into a frown very quickly.

“Ladybug, I don’t want you to treat me any differently. You’re my best friend and that comes before all else. You didn’t ruin anything between me and her, both of us did it just fine on our own. After Vow we both spoke and we’re no longer together, but that’s not your fault at all, it’s ours.” His words are soft and measured, like he had run through this conversation a million times in his head. Despite his confidence and kindness all Ladybug can focus on is the fact the words  “we’re no longer together”  just left his lips.

“Please do not tell me it’s because you told her about me. Or well about me to the best of your abilities.” Her voice is strained and she can’t help but look at him with eyes full of fear.

“Woah, no, she’s  known  about you since the beginning, or as much about you as she can know. I didn’t just spring up a mystery love interest on her and regardless of you, it wouldn’t have worked anyways.”

“You can’t just say that Chat,” Ladybug frowned at his last words.

Chat laughs at that, shaking his head aggressively, “No Ladybug, it for real couldn’t have worked out. She’s not attracted to me.”

She’s sure her eyes are going to pop out of her own head with how wide they went at his words. Sure, she can only see what’s available to her when he’s in the suit, but Chat is  very  attractive. She may not be in love with him, but that doesn’t make her blind to how pretty he is. Anyone with eyes could see it! He was deemed Paris’s most eligible bachelor on the Ladyblog’s companion blog, just barely beating out Adrien himself!

“But- but you’re-“ Ladybug feels so baffled that words fail her, so she takes to aggressively gesturing at his entire body with her hand.

He laughs so hard his body curls in on itself, “I’ve gotta stop you there before you make me all flustered. I could’ve worded that better, she’s not attracted to  men, not just me in particular.”

Embarrassment rushes through her quickly enough to tinge her cheeks pink, but she can’t help but find the humor in it all. Chat knows he’s pretty, it’s not like her telling him that he is would be surprising to him.

“Phew, good, I thought we were going to have to get the poor girl’s eyes checked.” She says with mock relief, playfully fanning herself with her hand.

“I’m going to throw you off the tower, horndog.” Chat grins, canines bared in a way that Ladybug can’t help but snicker at. He always looks just a little bit feral, but in a disgruntled kitten way. They push and nudge each other, mindful of the ledge as they playfully wrestle.

“You’re the tomcat here.” Ladybug snickers, pulling back into her own space, feeling light after the conversation they just had. Knowing Chat doesn’t blame her and doesn’t want things to change makes all the worrying she went through the last 24 hours feel ridiculous.

“So what about your boy then?” Chat asks and Ladybug, takes a moment to finish off another macron as she tries to think of how to answer. Adrien’s laughter from the park rings in her ears.

“The same I guess? We saw each other today.” Ladybug muses. Things hadn’t really changed, beyond Kagami they were just the same Adrien and Marinette they always had been. Minus the lack of stuttering, but Marinette had thrown that away when he began dating Kagami.

“That’s good to hear, at the very least it’s nice to have him as a friend.” Chat grins at her and Ladybug’s heart swells with love for this boy.

She may not be able to love him in the way he needs, but she still loves him as a best friend. He’s been her rock all these years, she would never forget that.

“He’s a good guy, I’m happy to have him any way I can.” Ladybug admits. As soon as the words are out her chest seizes and she chokes on her breath, folding over on herself as she grabs the suit over her chest.

“Woah!” She feels Chat haul her body away from the edge as she wheezes helplessly. Tears form at the corner of her eyes as she helplessly tries to breathe in. His hand softly, but firmly pats between her shoulder blades. She glances up at him, helplessly.

His green eyes meet hers and she heaves, turning her head just in enough time as golden yellow petals spill from her lips.

“Oh fuck.” She mumbles tearfully as her eyes see the sheer mass of all the spit slick petals in her lap. Instead of scolding her, Chat mindlessly stares at the petals like they had kicked him square in the chest.

Ladybug feels a bit like she got kicked in the chest, but maybe that’s to be expected when hacking up a shit ton of petals.

“We should see Fu tomorrow.” Chat says quietly, carefully brushing the petals off her lap and off the tower. Even with gloves on, Ladybug couldn’t even imagine touching the petals without squirming.

“Okay.” Ladybug agrees, throat feeling raw as she looks up at Chat. Their eyes meet and his are glossy with unshed tears. Ladybug frowns, wraps her arms around his neck, and pulls him down for a hug. All at once he falls apart in her arms, his face ducking into the crook of her neck as he lets out a heart-wrenching sob. She plays with the hair at the nape of his neck, mumbling assurances to him.

She’s terrified, that much is certain, but just the thought of Chat coughing up petals is much scarier for her to think of. She pulls him closer, letting him sob until he’s all out of tears to cry, because she knows if the roles were reversed, she would be even more worse for wear.

So she lets him cry, holds him tight, and keeps assuring him it’s all okay.

“I’m so scared.” He hoarsely admits to her when he’s cried himself dry. He’s yet to leave the crook of her neck and she’s sure his spine has to hurt from staying leaned down like that for as long as he has.

“I know Chaton, me too. We’ll go see Fu first thing in the morning.” Ladybug assures him, and he huffs against her neck before retreating. His cheeks are blotchy and tear tracks are marring his face, but she still gives him a soft grin.

“Okay, we should meet at the warehouse and go from there.” Chat says quietly, hands carefully rubbing the tears from his face, mindful of his own claws.

Ladybug thinks of the warehouse in relation to Fu’s shop and nods in response, “That should be a good starting place.”

“Sounds good bugaboo.” It sounds like he’s going to get up and prepare to leave, but he doesn’t. He scans her face for a moment and forces himself to stand when he finds whatever it is he’s looking for.

“Are you good to get home?” He asks, offering a hand to lift her to her feet. She takes it and he tugs her up effortlessly. On her feet she feels fine, just weak in the knees, so she waves off his offer and prepares her yoyo.

He gives her a weak grin, passing her the bag as she leaves and she can tell he’s pretending to be okay for her.

That’s okay, Ladybug does some pretending of her own as she acts like feeling his eyes on her back as she leaves doesn’t break her heart.

She’ll save the tears and the fears for when she’s safe inside her bed, for now it’s just her and the moon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO sorry for how late this came out. I try to write so that I always have at least one chapter prepared, but I couldn’t write the chapter after this one for the life of me so I didn’t feel comfortable posting yet. It’s done now though so I can finally hand over what I think is debatably the best thing I’ve written for this book so far.
> 
> As always comments telling me what you think/want to see are greatly appreciated!
> 
> -Bias


	6. Blossoming

Ladybug crashes into bed in a haze of bright pink light, leaving Marinette laying down in her wake. The first thing she notices as soon as she drops her transformation is just how much her chest hurts. She gently rubs her sternum with a weak grimace to try to ease the soreness, but unsurprisingly it doesn’t do anything to stop it.

“How is your chest feeling?” Tikki asks, fretfully hovering over Marinette’s curled up form.

“Mm not the greatest.” She says hoarsely. It’s the understatement of the century; she feels like she got the flu and a chest cold at the same time. It’s not excoriating, but it’s very well on the brink of it.

“Lay on your back, I know how to help for now.” Tikki directs her and Marinette rolls on her back, wincing with the action. Laying on her back helps on its own, but then Tikki flies down and curls up dead center of Marinette’s chest and she could’ve cried at the relief that hits her.

“You thing or kwami thing?” She asks tiredly, eyes already drooping with sleep now that she has no pain keeping her from the rest her body so desperately craves.

“It’s a kwami thing, we can momentarily soothe pain if we have a strong bond with our wielder.” Tikki says in a tone a bit shy and it makes the girl smile softly.

“That’s such a cute thing, do you know why?”

Tikki’s body goes unnaturally still and she lets out a sigh, “We learned how to do it through necessity. Keeping our wielders pain free until they can retransform... or keeping them calm as they pass.”

Marinette thinks she should be shocked by this revelation, but she can’t bring herself to be. Tikki has been around for so many thousands of years, she’s likely assisted so many Ladybug’s up until their moments of death; it isn’t hard to think that she would be with quite a few during their death.

“That makes sense, what a cool thing to be able to do. I’d love to be able to take away the pain of those I love,” Marinette says reassuringly.

“It’s a blessing and a curse, but I’m glad to have it.”

It goes quiet after that. Marinette is too exhausted to say anything more and Tikki obviously isn’t the biggest fan of the conversation at hand. With eyelids heavy with sleep and nothing to listen to but her own breathing, Marinette falls into a dreamless sleep.

The next morning Marinette wakes up coughing, her body lurching up before she even has a chance to open her eyes. With the jolt, Tikki gets tossed from her chest and a bolt of pain makes Marinette let out a hissed yelp.

She can feel the petals rising up her throat and her eyes jolt open as she desperately tries to rush herself out of bed. Before she can even get detangled from her blankets, she lets out one strangled cough that opens the floodgates. Her eyes sting with tears as she stares at the yellow petals scattered around her bed, sticking to her blanket with her own spit.

Tikki warily hovers around Marinette’s head as the girl begins picking the petals off her blanket with her nails, gagging softly at the sensation. Although disgusted at the thought of touching somehow magical petals covered in her own spit, the more she picks up to dispose of the trash can, the more curious she gets about what flower they are.

They’re long and somewhat on the skinny side, definitely much larger than any other petals she’s seen anyone cough up. They’re a deceivingly innocent honey gold and Marinette supposes she would find them very pretty had they not just come from somewhere in her chest.

Cupping the petals in her palm, she shakily descends the ladder to dump them in her trash can. Although the logical part of her knows that knowing what kind of flower they are won’t change anything, her curiosity drives her forward in her hesitant inspection of the petals.

Marinette loves plants, but flowers? She’s never exactly been the best judge of those. Sure she has a few on her balcony, but they were types her maman had chosen for her knowing that they were within her realm of knowledge.

“Tikki do you know what kind of flower would have petals like this?” Marinette asks as she dumps the flowers into her trash can. Feeling her own spit on her palms causes a shiver to run down her spine, rubbing her palms against her pajama pants to rid herself of the feeling.

“What would you gain from that Marinette?” Tikki asks tiredly and the girl looks at the kwami with a bewildered look. Normally Tikki took her questions and answered politely, but it seemed the little goddess had a rough night. Although, Marinette supposes throwing her off her chest this morning might’ve helped with her agitation.

“Nothing, I guess.” Marinette dismisses, feeling a bit scolded under Tikki’s baby blues. She begins gathering up some clothes to take a shower and get ready to head out with Chat later then pauses right as she’s about to leave the room.

“I should probably check the phone before I get going.” She mumbles to herself, quickly getting the phone from where she had hidden it in a dresser drawer last night to charge.

Unlocking the phone revealed a notification from Chat and she nearly sighs in relief when she sees it’s not him cancelling.

** C: u ok this mornin? worried abt u all night :( **

**L: I’m good, Tikki helped. Warehouse in about an hour?**

Marinette puts the phone back in the drawer securely, reasoning with herself that by the time she gets dressed he’ll have a response ready for her.

She forgets a very crucial part of everything as she runs into her maman in the kitchen.

She’s expected to work in the bakery today, but she’s  needed  as Ladybug soon.

“Morning, taking a shower before you head down?” Sabine asks kindly, smiling over her cup of coffee at Marinette.

As she sees this she has two options and the first one is impossible with what she needs to do, even though it’s the one she wants to do the most. If she doesn’t tell her mom about the flowers she won’t be able to sneak out as Ladybug and could possibly spread whatever it is she has to bakery customers, even if that option causes her parents not to worry...it’s not plausible. Telling them means they’ll be worried, but ultimately she’ll be able to sneak out to see Chat.

“Um maman I don’t think I can work in the bakery today, I woke up coughing up those petals.” She says quietly, trying to blink back tears as they form. Her mother’s face drops as the words leave her mouth, slowly lowering her mug to the kitchen table.

“Oh Marinette, are you okay? Do you want to go to the doctor?”

“ _No!_ I’m fine. I was just going to take a shower and go back to my room to rest, maybe take a nap.” Marinette can feel rising panic at the mention of the doctor. Being unable to deter her maman from taking her to the doctor is even worse than having to work at the bakery, she needs to be able to see Fu  today.

“Alright, fine. If it gets worse though you come and get me or your papa so we can go. Okay?” Sabine says sternly and Marinette holds back the urge to scream out in victory, choosing to just nod in confirmation instead.

Marinette quickly takes her shower and dresses in the most un-Marinette thing she found in her drawers that morning. Trying not to draw attention to a girl when she’s wearing all pink isn’t something easily achieved so Marinette goes with a muted grey tshirt and black sweats. She leaves her hair down, opting to pull a beanie over her still-damp hair instead before quickly rushing back up the stairs to her room.

When a quick look at the burner phone confirms Chat is able to go for sure, Marinette transforms and almost sighs in relief as the weight in her chest eases. In mere minutes Ladybug finds herself in the warehouse, approaching a pacing Chat.

“We’ve got to stop meeting like this.” Ladybug says jokingly and Chat’s head snaps up. He blinks furiously at her words, before catching on and giving her a playful glare.

“How are you feeling?” He asks and Ladybug wishes she didn’t have to hear the fear in his tone.

“Okay, I think. Tikki helped with the pain so I could sleep and I coughed a few petals up this morning, but I feel fine inside the suit.” She wants to lie with him, give him more security in the situation, but she doesn’t want to hide the reality of the situation from him.

It hurts to hurt him.

“Right,” He says weakly, holding out his hand for her to take.

“Let’s get this show on the road.” Ladybug says, taking his hand in hers. Heart thundering in her chest, she nods and his eyes close. She closes her own and even with her suit still on she feels the adrenaline in her build as she realizes what they’re about to do.

“I’m going to turn my back to you now so we can detransform, keep ahold of my hand.” Ladybug directs, sounding much more in control than she felt. Her brain races with everything that could go wrong and yet there’s no other option.

This is the only option they have and that’s the scariest thing of all.

“Okay, lets do this bugaboo.”

Ladybug twists so her back is facing him, twisting her hand in his grasp as she does so she can hold him comfortably. From the angle they’re at it would seem like she was an enthusiastic friend leading him through town.

“Spots off.”

“Claws in.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohoo speedy updates! I’m getting back into the groove of things :) Next chapter you guys will finally get to the scene with Fu. I PROMISE! You were meant to this chapter but it just felt right to leave this off here.
> 
> As always any comments about what you think/ what you want to see are greatly appreciated!
> 
> -Bias


	7. Take it or Leaf it

Feeling magic fizzle on your skin that isn’t your own is an entirely different feeling. Her own transformation always feels like cool ice tracking up her limbs, but Chat’s feels like embers flicking from a flame against her skin only to be put out before it can do any real harm.

The next thing that hits her after that is Chat’s bare hand holding her own. Long, slender fingers she’s held many times before when incased in leather, but now they’re skin against her own and she feels like she could pass out any second.

This is new territory that neither of them have crossed and she’s terrified. She’s been Marinette with Chat before, she’s been Ladybug with Chat too, but never had she just been Marinette with whoever is beneath the mask.

Chat sees Ladybug as an unstoppable, unfaltering entity with wit and more charm than she actually knew how to use.

Underneath it all Marinette has words upon words that always seem to manage to fall short of what she actually means.

In short, Marinette feels exposed. Insanely exposed and maybe a little under-qualified to be even herself.

“You have really little hands.” Chat says after a small moment spent feeling like they’re both holding their breath. Marinette swallows heavily and begins leading him towards the exit of the warehouse facing away from the road.

“You already knew that.” She reminds him, even though she knows exactly what he means. She’s known that Chat has long hands this entire time, but in the back of her mind she knows that Chat doesn’t exactly look like himself out of suit. He doesn’t have claws or black leather dawning his fingers all hours of the day, but that’s how she  knows  Chat.

It’s quiet for a few moments as she opens the door and warns him of the step down. It’s a chilly day outside, but the sun is bright in the sky overhead. Marinette is thankful that it’s sunny for Chat’s sake, but not so thankful for herself as she begins to sweat a little beneath her beanie.

“You have really long fingers. Anyone ever tell you would make a good pianist?” Marinette finally responds after they’re comfortably walking down the road... or as comfortably as she could possibly feel walking down the road as a civilian with her superhero partner when she could have her identity exposed at any moment.

“My mother did, that’s why I play piano now.” He said it in the soft, way-off voice he always used when speaking about his mom. She doesn’t know specifics about the woman and she’s never thought to ask, but clear as day Chat misses her- that much she  did know.

It never fails to surprise Marinette how much about Chat she didn’t actually know. In all their years working together there’s so many things she knew and yet even more things she didn’t.

“Piano, huh? Took you more as a drums type.”

“I like piano and I’d love to learn to play the drums. I love learning in general though.” He admits, gently squeezing her hand in a repetitive pattern.

“The great Chat Noir is a nerd? Call the fan girls, they’re not going to be able to withstand such a blow.” She teases, returning his squeezes.

Chat laughs quietly in a way she thinks might be more like civilian him than Chat. It’s not loud or echoing and unrestrained like she’s used to hearing from him.

It’s a little quiet, the kind of polite laugh you do when you’re not quite sure if a joke is being made.

Maybe Chat is feeling a little out of depth within his own self right now too.

Maybe she’s thinking a bit too far into it considering they’re trying to keep attention off themselves.

“C’mon you should know by now that finding out I’m a nerd is only going to grow my fan club. They love the bad boy with a soft spot trope.” He retorts and Marinette can’t help the fond smile that rises at that.

“You know you’re not a bad boy, right?” She asks him softly, rubbing a thumb softly over the skin of his wrist.

She’s not what’s come over her, usually not so sentimental, but she allows her affection to seep out anyways. Maybe it’s the fear of coughing up the flowers, maybe it’s this weird feeling of his bare skin on hers, but she’s not going to question it too hard.

Maybe there’s just too many maybes for Marinette to fully comprehend at the moment. Uncertainties swirling on the tip of her tongue with every untraveled path and bumpy road.

Maybe Marinette will never run out of maybes.

“It’s hard to remember sometimes, but yes, my lady, I know.” Chat finally responds after a pregnant pause.

“Good, I’m glad, because you’re really one of the best people I know.”

“I’m going to stop you there before I start crying.” Chat warns, his voice sounding tight.

“Your fan club is  really  going to have a field day with that one.” She laughs and nearly trips as Chat deliberately steps on the back of her shoe. If she hadn’t felt his foot kick around her ankle a few times before he stomped on the back of her shoe she would’ve swore up and down it was because he couldn’t see.

“I’m going to push you down while you’re blind and helpless if you keep that up.” She warns, awkwardly twisting her foot around in her shoe to uncurl the back of her shoe.

“My love language is when you verbally abuse me, bugaboo.”

For that, Marinette stops walking just so he would bump into her and stagger, his breath getting knocked out of him in a quiet  oof . When his body hits hers she nearly fumbles, but holds steady just to enact her revenge.

“You nearly crushed my Adam’s apple with your skull. What is it made out of, iron?” Chat croaks, pushing his free hand between Marinette’s shoulder blades to urge her forward. She begins to walk again, adjusting her grip on Chat’s hand as she urges him forward.

“Bone, surprisingly enough.”

Marinette hopes they look like a couple of friends goofing around and having fun and not like total idiots, but at the very least she can account for the lack of people out on the street. She sees people in shops and in passing, but many are wearing masks and move quickly without stopping to enjoy one another.

She supposes she has the flowers to thank for the lack of audience, but if it wasn’t for the flowers she wouldn’t be in this situation to begin with.

Marinette is tired of supposing.

“We’re almost there.” Her chest is aching again and she has the horrible feeling of a cough building in her chest, but she forces herself to ignore the feeling and walk just a little bit faster.

“Are you okay? Why did we speed up?” Chat asks nervously, his grip on her hand slightly tightening.

“I’m fine, don’t worry! Just eager to get there.” Marinette lies straight through her teeth, tears building in her eyes as the pressure in her chest does. She feels like a soda can that’s been shook up, brimming with carbonation and waiting to explode.

“You don’t like liars.” Chat reminds her in a tone almost chiding.

Marinette grits her teeth as pain and guilt mix together like a bitter medicine, “Okay, right, sorry. My chest really hurts, but I’ll be okay until we get there.”

“You said Tikki helped last night, can we do that right now?” Chat asks, but his tone is nervous and pitchy in a way Marinette’s not quite sure she’s heard from him before.

Glancing around at the street and its lack of bustle, she’s fairly certain she could get away with it, but fear of someone in the shops spotting them is enough for her to change her mind.

“No, I don’t want to risk her being seen. I’ll make it until we get to Fu’s.”

Marinette does make it to Fu’s, just barely, before doubling over right outside his shop’s door. Her chest burns with the force of her coughs and she’s acutely aware of Chat’s panicked voice and his blind fumbling to pat her back. She tries to talk and reassure him she’s okay, but every time she tries she suddenly can’t breathe as more petals force their way up and out of her throat.

She can taste metal in her mouth.

Delirious from the very little amount of oxygen getting to her brain all she can think is, _‘_ _am I bleeding?’_ ,  even as she can feel her throat slick with something much thicker than spit.

“How long have you been holding that in? Come on, let’s get inside.” Even through her confused state she can place Fu’s kind voice, his arm gently wrapping around her shoulders to lead her into his shop.

Through teary eyes she can’t see more than blurs of colors as Fu leads her through his place, ushering her to sit in a chair. As soon as she’s settled down she’s offered a trash can.

The next few moments are agonizing, the room filled with her retching and Fu’s quiet assurances for her not to speak and to just let it happen. Through it all, Chat says nothing, but his hand stays firmly on her back. He’s no longer behind her and she can see the blurry outline of his face from the corner of her eye; a simple turn of her head could reveal his identity.

She squeezes her eyes shut and hopes to everything she believes in that Chat’s are the same way beneath his sunglasses.

Less than a minute after sitting down, the petals stop.

“I understand this circumstance called for some hard decisions, but-“

“We don’t know, master, I swear.” Marinette interrupts, her voice rough and every word feelings like sandpaper rubbing against the walls of her throat.

“What did I tell you about speaking?” The older man scolds, pressing something cold and cylindrical into her hands. She quickly realizes it’s a water bottle and shakily untwists the top, resisting the urge to down the entire bottle in one go.

She nearly jolts as something makes contact with her sternum, but as relief washes over her she quickly realizes Tikki has settled against her.

“Anyway... I meant holding in the petals. You could’ve suffocated.” Fu said after a few quiet moments.

_“She could’ve what?!”_ Chat nearly shouts, his voice going up several octaves.

“Did your kwamis tell you anything?” Fu asks and Marinette can tell without even seeing his face that he’s beyond frustrated.

“Tikki said I would understand better if you told me.” Marinette says quietly, the words less painful after drinking the water.

“And you will. I didn’t think it would get to a point where you would hold them in!” Tikki defends herself but judging by the harsh sigh coming from Fu, Marinette is willing to bet he didn’t care for her words.

“No excuses, we’re both old enough to have heard them all by now. You two keep your eyes closed so I can grab something.”

Fu leaves the room, Chat’s hand doesn’t leave her back. She feels the outline of his fingers through the thin material of her t-shirt, specifically his ring. His hand radiates heat, warming her skin.

“I thought you said you could make it?” There’s no accusation in his voice, but it sets Marinette on edge anyway.

“Well I did, didn’t I?” She snaps back at him, shrugging his hand off her back.

Cold hits the area left behind in his absence.

“Sure, bug.” There’s no fight in his voice, only a tired resignation.

Marinette wants a fight, not this. She’s hurt, she’s scared, and she just wants to argue with him until she forgets that she’s feeling anything but aggravated. She wants an argument that starts out heated and ends up about something totally irrelevant and way funnier than it needs to be.

She has a feeling his civilian self, whoever the poor bastard is, doesn’t exactly have as much bite as Chat does.

She always goes until she tastes blood, but when the blood is her own when does it actually stop?

Fu walks back into the room, muttering quietly to either himself or Wayzz as he goes. Something shaped alike to a boomerang is pressed into her hand not limply holding the water bottle. Fu takes the water bottle from her and Marinette uses her other hand to feel the object, finding gemstones and straps.

“It’s a mask?” Chat speaks up and Fu hums in confirmation.

“It’s funny what you get ahold of when you’re as old as I am. Never mind that, get them on, we have a lot to talk about.”

Marinette fumbles to pull the mask on without her vision. When she’s done the mask straps are awkwardly situated over the beanie and smells faintly of dust, but it’s on.

“Okay, I’m done.”

“Me too.”

Finally opening her eyes, she immediately glances over at Chat. The first thing that hits her is how  crazily  green his eyes are. She’s seen them once without the inhuman film when he debuted as Mister Bug, but seeing these eyes and knowing for a fact they’re 100% him nearly knocks the breath out of her. The mask is a worn, gold color that comes down so far on his nose that Marinette’s surprised his nostrils weren’t beneath it.

What shocks her most of all is his neat hair, carefully styled, but only slightly windswept opposed to being a wild nest as it usually is. Even more surprising are the two neon green eyes surrounded by black fur staring back at her from on top Chat’s head.

Fu clears his throat and settles down on the mat on his floor, eyes darting between the two of them as he does so.

“Starting with the basics, what you’re experiencing is commonly known as Hanahaki disease. Although, I feel disease isn’t very befitting to how to comes about.”

Marinette shuffles and tries to steel her nerves, trying to prepare herself for whatever Fu lays out for them.

“Hanahaki normally lays dormant, only brought about when someone of a nonmagical bloodline and no magical experience attempts to create a love spell. Love spells are not as soft as many believe them to be, they’re harmful and go against consent in all accounts and are considered very unethical in the magic world.”

“So all this is because of a failed...  _love spell_ _?_ ” Chat asks, sounding entirely hesitant in the whole concept. Marinette is feeling admittedly the same, although she has magical earrings that turn her into a superhero so can she even really be surprised at this point?

“Exactly. Making a love spell is bad karma in of itself, but making one  incorrectly  is even worse. It isn’t contagious in the sense you can get it from those around you, but it releases that bad energy into the surrounding areas, leaching onto those suffering from believed unrequited love.”

Marinette’s blood runs cold, “Unrequited love?”

“ _Believed_ unrequited love or actual unrequited love, yes.” Fu affirms, nodding softly.

“What do you mean by believed? It’s either requited or it isn’t.” Chat asks, the last part of his sentence seeming more like a comment to himself than Fu.

“Someone can tell you they love you all day and really,  _truly_ mean it, but if you don’t believe them Hanahaki will latch on to you. It doesn’t care about technicalities, it cares that  you  feel your love isn’t being returned. It also works in the opposite way, if you believe with your whole heart someone loves you, but they don’t, Hanahaki can get you that way.” Fu shakes his head.

“It’s a nasty thing. Flowers grow in your chest typically representing your lover or your relationship with them and although beautiful, they’re insanely dangerous. Holding them in when you need to cough causes them to more aggressively try to push their way out and if you let that tension keep growing, you can and will suffocate.” The man gives her and Tikki a rather pointed look as he says the last bit, making Marinette feeling every part child and not a single bit like a superhero.

Judging by the awkward shifting of Tikki against her sternum, she believes the little goddess feels similar.

“So what do we need to do to fix this?” Chat asks and Marinette risks a glance at him. He doesn’t return her gaze, but she can tell by the way he straightens up that he feels her looking at him.

“Locate the person who tried to make the spell, bring what’s left of it back to me, and I’ll handle the rest. I can get you two started by sending you the way of my friends down at the spell shop, but beyond that I don’t know anything more than you two.”

Fu scribbles out an address on a scrap paper and hands it to Marinette, “Now I advise you two to get to the alley way, get transformed, and get home. It’s been a long day.”

Before they part ways in the alley Chat pats her arm softly and tells her, “Be good.”

It’s always ‘ _be good’_ with him. Never a _‘be safe’_ , or _‘goodbye’_. She knows somewhere deep down that he’s afraid of the finality of goodbyes and that maybe he knows sometimes being safe just isn’t attainable, so he goes with something just as important.

She doesn’t even give it a second thought.

“I will.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is one HELL of a chapter, nearly 3000 words!
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy the creative liberties I took with Hanahaki to make it fit what I needed to make this story work.
> 
> As always any comments about what you think/ what you want to see are greatly appreciated!
> 
> -Bias


	8. Best Buds

It has only been three days since this madness began and Marinette has never felt more tired in her life. The last few days felt like weeks and it’s not until Marinette sinks down into her computer chair with her bowl of soup clutched between her hands that night that she actually begins to _feel_ that fatigue.

After delicately placing her bowl down on her desk as to prevent it from spilling, Marinette plugs the burner phone in next to her so that it would be hidden by her computer if someone were to come in. Her parents were usually very good about not coming into her room without knocking, but with her being sick she knows that she’s going to be expecting some clinginess until her and Chat solve the problem.

There was so much they had to do, like the press conference to spread whatever information they could about Hanahaki, follow up with the spell shop, and then Kwami knows what else after that.

_‘And well... my own curiosity needs to be met,’_ Marinette thinks as her eyes ghost over her computer.

She knows that whatever flower she has doesn’t change a thing, she already knows who she’s in love with and how she feels about him, but morbid curiosity can’t help but have her question what flower is growing in her chest.

Her chest aches and she lets out a quiet cough, hooking her foot around her small trash can to pull it to her in case the petals need to come up. Even though she has long since brushed her teeth to rid herself of all the blood, Marinette can’t help but feel like the ghost of it is still there.

She sighs, one hand grasping her spoon full of soup as the other guides her computer mouse to click on her browser.

Spoon full of soup in her mouth, she frees up her hands and begins typing,  _‘types of yellow flowers’_ . She hovers over the enter key, wondering if Tikki was right in saying there would be no benefit to knowing.

From the corner of her eye she spots the burner phone and nearly knocks her bowl over in her hurry to grab it.

**L: Can you talk on the phone?**

She finally pulls her long since empty spoon out of her mouth and begins scooping up large spoonfuls of soup to urge into her mouth as she makes shifting glances between the burner phone and her computer lit up with those daunting numbers.

_1:13 a.m._ stares back at her from the burner phone as she picks it up to check for a response.

“I guess he’s asleep,” but almost as soon as the words are out of her mouth the phone begins vibrating and she nearly drops it with the force.

**_Incoming call..._ **

Grinning, she quickly accepts and tucks her phone between her shoulder and ear.

“Is everything okay?” Chat’s groggy voice registers far more than it should, Marinette nearly dropping her soup filled mouth open in shock. Instead she swallows, dropping her spoon harshly into her near empty bowl.

“Y-yeah,” she pulls the phone away from her face to whisper ’ _what the hell’_ then puts the phone back , “ Yeah I’m good, just wanted to talk to you.”

“Miss me bugaboo?” He asks playfully, but all Marinette can focus on is the rasp of his voice as she all but jitters in her seat. He sounds so familiar... kind of like-

“Adrien!” Marinette voices aloud, snapping her fingers.

“Uh... what? Ladybug-“

“Sorry you sound so much like him on the phone! No wonder they asked him to be your voice actor.”

Static crackles between the two for a moment and Marinette is about to check if she accidentally hung up when Chat finally responds.

“Oh, Adrien Agreste, right? Yeah, I’ve heard that a few times. You know of him?”

Marinette flushes red, eyes nervously meeting all the photos of her photos of her with Adrien and friends on the walls, occupying the places Adrien’s modeling photos had been the year prior.

“Oh well I’ve saved him a few times, you know? And well his face is all over Paris and I’ve seen him on interviews and stuff-” Marinette nervous babbling gets cut off by Chat’s hushed chuckling filling her ears.

“If I didn’t know any better I would say you have a type.”

“Excuse me-“ two green eyed, blond boys towering over her frame flashes briefly through her mind, “OH MY GOD. Shut up. I hate you.” Chat could hardly take her seriously as Marinette doubles over with laughter.

_‘He just called me out and I can’t even confirm or deny it,’_ She presses her hand against her grinning mouth.

“I’ve caught you red handed, my lady, next thing I know it turns out your crush is blond too.”

Marinette’s snickering turns into full on muffled cackling as she sinks in on herself, trying to force herself to stop laughing even as her forehead nearly reaches her keyboard with how far she was curling in.

“My lady!  _No_ - “ Chat joins in with her laughter, his normally booming laugh muffled as Marinette assumes he attempts to quieten himself.

The two snickers quietly temper down, tears gathered in the corners of Marinette’s eyes as she finally cools down to a breathless giggle. It’s funny enough to admit that Chat shares traits with her crush, but that quickly becomes even funnier when he doesn’t realize that Adrien _is_ the crush.

“I can’t believe your type has been  me  all this time, totally heartbroken right now, was it the leather that turned you off?” Chat jokingly asks through wheezing laughs.

“I do not have a type,” Marinette defends herself through giggles.

“So your crush  isn’t  blond haired and green eyed?” Chat asks and Marinette pouts to herself to keep from snickering.

“No comment...”

“I’m telling the press.”

“Shut up.” She grins, face feeling warm as she presses her cheek into her open palm.

“Speaking of your crush...”

“Here we go.” She jokes, taking a quick sip of her quickly cooking soup.

“No seriously.” He sounds thoughtful and Marinette quickly sobers up, face falling.

“I was doing some thinking about this because of Hanahaki and the way things are going we’re both going to be compromised.” Marinette pauses in her soup sipping, slowly easing her spoon back into her bowl as she considers Chat’s words.

“We don’t know that yet, you’ve seemed okay so far.” Marinette counters weakly, hating where this conversation is going.

“That’s not the point, bug. You heard Fu, unrequited or believed unrequited love causes it. We both know you don’t love me- and that’s not me trying to guilt you or anything- we’ve both known this for years.”

“I... _yeah_. Where’s this going?”

“Have you actually asked your crush how he feels about you?” Chat asks all in one breath and Marinette takes an unsteady breath.

“I’ve tried, but there’s just never been a good time. He just recently got out of a relationship and I’d hate for him to think it’s because of that.” She admits, uncomfortably rubbing her chest as an ache begins building.

“I think you need to ask. Right now it’s just believed, but if he loves you back then you’ll be healed and it’ll only be one of us compromised.”

“But what if he doesn’t feel the same?” She asks quietly, feeling smaller than the skin she’s meant to be filling.

“We’ll deal with that if we get there, but I highly doubt we will. He would be crazy to not see that you’re incredible.”

Marinette sighs and leans her weight back on her chair, “I’m not the same person when I’m not Ladybug. Civilian me is a mess around him, I’m not nearly as-“

“With or without that mask, you are the same person. Maybe the mask helps you enhance what you want to be or  _need_ to be, but beneath it that’s still  all you.  You may be more one way as Ladybug and the other way as your civilian self, but either way both sides make up _you_. There’s no side better than the other, because the true you is composed of  both  sides.” Chat interrupts her, speaking without a single stutter or pause to gather his thoughts.

Chat’s quiet laugh in the street, the small polite smiles he does that always catch her off guard, and the way his hair neatly rested on his head this morning-

Marinette has a feeling this is something Chat has to remind himself of quite often.

“You’re right, Chat. Thanks.” She says softly and he hums in response.

There’s a moment of quiet between the two where Marinette just listens to his softbreaths as she tiredly stares at her search bar.

“Is it the right time to say I actually wanted to talk because I was afraid to do research on my flower?”

“How far have you gotten?” There’s shuffling on the other side on the line when he presumably rolls over in his bed.

“Typing  _‘types of yellow flowers’_ and then not hitting enter?” Marinette admits sheepishly, her admission sounding like a question.

“Hit enter then,” Chat snickers.

“Okay okay...” She takes a staggering breath and presses enter, that hand quickly finding her eyes. Although, that doesn’t do her much good as she begins peeking between the gaps of her fingers at the screen.

“So what are the options?” Chat asks and Marinette finally lets her hand fall from her face, eyes scanning the screen in front of her.

“Uh well there’s Buttercups, Black-eyed Susans, Solidago, Marigold... but they’re all too small.” Marinette answers thoughtfully, glancing through the photos provided with the names.

“Buttercups wouldn’t be nearly yellow enough either,” Chat adds and Marinette softly groans.

“Yeah, you’re right. Let’s see... Yarrow... too little... Primrose... not yellow enough...” Marinette’s breath catches as her eyes land on the next flower.

“Oh... I think I found it.”

“Yeah? What is it?”

“A Sunflower.” Her eyes glance between the petals in her trash can and the vibrant flower on her screen and she can’t even deny it. Everything fits so perfectly, the color and the sizing of the petals exact.

She hears Chat’s breath catch in his throat and his muffled cough that follows, “That is uh... really big.”

“Yeah.”

“And you’re... _really_ small.”

“I get it, Chat.” Marinette says firmly and he lets out a shuttering breath.

“Right, my bad. Are you going to look up what it stands for?”

“Already on it.” Her fingers glide over the keyboard and she nearly falls out of her chair as the first article comes up. She reads over it and keeps looking, mumbling to herself as she reads different articles.

All the articles say roughly the same thing and Marinette hates just how right it is.

“Well... it symbolizes adoration, loyalty, intelligence, happiness, friendship, worship, and faithfulness.” Marinette voices to Chat, her bottom lip trembling.

“And that is...?”

“Insanely accurate.” Marinette admits, scrubbing a hand down her face as if it would rid her of the information she just learned.

“Seems more centered around your relationship than him.”

“Yeah,” she groans out fighting back the tears building in her eyes. She knew what would come of this, but she didn’t expect it to hurt this  _bad_.

“If you need me we can meet up, I can be at the Eiffel Tower in ten minutes tops.” Chat assures her and Marinette grins sadly.

Her computer screen gleams in a reminder,  _2:01 a.m._

“I’ll be okay, it’s really late anyway. We have that meeting with Madame Chamack in the afternoon, so I’ll get to see you then.”

“I give you full  _purr_ mission to squeeze me until a rib pops out of place.” Chat says solemnly and Marinette snickers, closing her tabs to prepare to shut her computer down for the night.

“Don’t be gross,” she prepares to stand out of her chair and gets hit with a bolt of pain that sends her lurching over, palm of her hand slamming into the edge of her desk to keep her from collapsing.

“Are you okay?” Chat asks worriedly and she grits her teeth to distract herself from the searing pain in her chest.

“Just my chest, it’s probably time for me and Tikki to head to bed.” She rasps out, voice tight as every word feels like her breath is being pulled from her lungs with a vacuum.

“Oh man, yeah it’s late. Don’t hesitate to call if it gets bad, okay?” His tone is full of worry, Marinette can only imagine the furrow between his brows.

“Of course, chaton. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, be good.”

As soon as the words leave his mouth, Marinette hangs up, and upends flowers all over her carpet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> School for the year let out the 15th so that’s why I took a little longer than normal to write this, I hope it meets expectations! If you take notice, I’ve gone back and given each chapter a title relating to flower puns (or if you’re early, I’m in the process of doing so) if anyone has any good flower related titles let me know!
> 
> As always any comments about what you want to see/ what you think are always appreciated!
> 
> -Bias


	9. Seed of Doubt

If Marinette hates liars and akumas, what she holds for press conferences and interviews is straight up  _loathing_ . Every time she has to speak with the media there’s an akumatization or petty news articles treating them more like celebrities than superheroes.

The studio lights make her feel hot beneath her spots and she can’t help her tapping against the arm of the couch. Chat’s arm is slung over the back of the couch, the warmth of his arm radiating off of him and warming her neck. If it wasn’t already so hot on the set, Ladybug would be more thankful for that reminder her partner is so close by.

Out of the corner of her eye she can’t help but observe Chat. The blond is slouching down on the couch- just enough to look casual, but not so slouched he seemed inattentive. His leg is tossed widely over the other, his ankle meeting his other leg at the knee, causing him to take up much more room on the couch than needed.

His knee is pressed against her thigh and she’s desperately trying to ignore it as she partakes in small talk with Nadja before the show begins.

Early this morning Ladybug contacted Nadja asking if they had a spot for her and Chat to speak about Hanahaki, thankfully they had and here they are.

Ladybug almost wishes they didn’t have to speak publicly, but it’s just another thing she has to give up for the good of Paris.

Sometimes Ladybug wishes she didn’t have to be good.

Her throat constricts and she clears it, covering it with a polite “uh-huh” at the question Madame Chamack asked her.

Ladybug watches as the earpiece in Nadja’s ear flashes up, the woman immediately sitting up straight and flashing an exaggerated grin.

“Good evening, I’m Nadja Chamack and we’re live with the cat and bug duo to finally get some answers about the flower sickness!” Ladybug smiles nervously at the camera, her stomach churning as Chat does his usual finger salute from the corner of her eye.

“I wish we were here on better terms Nadja, but as always it’s a pleasure.” Ladybug says genuinely. After the instance with Prime Queen she was more than concerned with ever joining Nadja live again, but it soon became apparent that her producer caused the instance and learned their lesson.

“So tell us what we’ve all been dying to know, what  is  the cause of this floral outburst and how can we prevent it?” Nadja’s face is eager, slightly leaning forward in her seat.

“Well Nadja, we will try to explain to the best of our abilities and take questions afterwards,” Chat turns his attention towards her, “how does that sound bug?”

“Perfect Chat,” she nods, “What Paris is experiencing is a magical sickness of sorts called Hanahaki disease. We can’t tell you why  it occurs as we don’t want a recreation of this in the future, but it is 100% magical, and something we can work on ourselves.“

“How does this magical illness choose who to infect- is it contagious?”

“No, it isn’t contagious,” Ladybug takes a stuttering breath in, “the magic chooses to inflect those who are experiencing unrequited love, or  believed unrequited love.”

“Believed meaning?”

“M-meaning someone could love you back, but if you don’t believe that they do you will be infected in the same way someone experiencing true unrequited love would.” Ladybug’s face is beginning to heat up, her chest aching as a reminder beneath her suit.

She doesn’t feel the need to cough, but her chest burns and constricts as a warning.

Chat’s clawed finger tips dangle off the edge of the couch, brushing over her shoulder in a soothing manner. She nearly jolts, but just straightens back up, giving Nadja a tight smile.

“Thank you for your explanation Ladybug, let’s read some viewer concerns.” Nadja begins tapping around on her tablet, seemingly looking for questions and turns her attention back towards the two of them.

“If it isn’t contagious would you say it would be safe for students to return back to school?”

Ladybug shoots Chat a puzzled look that gets returned with a shrug, “Well I believe that is something the school board and medical professionals would have to decide on. Coughing up petals results in spit and even blood in severe cases, which causes concern regardless of their magical origins.”

The three go back and forth for a few minutes, Nadja firing out questions and Ladybug and Chat answering to the best of their abilities. The longer they’re answering, the more Ladybug’s increase in discomfort becomes.

“Ah! Here’s a good one. There’s some medical professionals discussing the removal of the flowers through surgical procedure, do you believe that would work?”

“We couldn’t say for a fact, however, I would recommend leaving the flowers alone unless it’s a severe case. Ladybug and I will be working tirelessly to fix this situation, all we need is for everyone to support one another during this time.” Chat answers and Ladybug is glad. Her vision is spinning around her, heat creeping up her body.

It hits her like an afterthought, _‘_ _I’m going to pass out’._

“Any last statements?”

“Don’t hold in any coughs and treat one another kindly.” Ladybug says, but it sounds far off even to her own ears.

“And google what flower you have, it can be fun to read how it describes your partner or your relationship with them!” Chat chirps in, his arm falling around Ladybug’s shoulder as he helps her to her feet.

“Thank you for joining us today!” Is the last thing Ladybug hears as she blackouts in Chat’s arms, her body remaining upright as she slumps against his side.

She doesn’t come completely to until they’re in the alleyway outside of the building.

It isn’t until then that Ladybug realizes her mouth is full of petals and she’s been shakily breathing through her nose the entire interview. 

Chat’s green eyes watch her face sternly as Ladybug leans away from his body and onto the wall of the building, turning her face to spit the petals out of her mouth.

The bitter taste of iron and therough grooves of brick against her shoulder doesn’t nearly feel as bad as the disappointment running off Chat in waves. To anyone else he would’ve seen impassive, but Ladybug has been trained to his every movement for many years- a necessity of working together. 

His face is blank, which is so unalike the usual expressive Chat. His jaw is set tightly and his eyes follow her every movement, his tail idly flicking in agitation.

“I didn’t do it on purpose.” Ladybug promises, wiping her mouth on the back of her arm.

Even against a red suit, the blood smear stares back at her.

Chat’s eyes remain trained on her in a way that she’s  sure  is uncertainty, “Yeah?”

“I swear, I didn’t feel the need to cough at all. My chest was hurting, but I didn’t have to cough so I wasn’t worried. I didn’t know, don’t you trust me at all?” Her outburst comes like a tidal wave that she couldn’t try to stop even if she was aware of it coming. Chat held her gaze, nodding slowly as he backs up from her.

“I don’t know how in the world you got that impression- you know what?  _Forget it._ We’ll talk later when we’re both level-headed.” His eyes are lit up in a way that makes Ladybug tremble, even when paired with his clipped tone.

There’s fire in his eyes and ice in his tone, yet neither combat one another, instead working against the ever forming pit in Ladybug’s stomach.

He finally turns away from her, not even bothering to give Ladybug another glance as he says, “Be good”, before turning the corner and walking off.

She watches him leave, the words  _‘be good’_ feeling like a bitter pill that he left with her and expected her to take.

She turns around and kicks the wall, hard, the wall crumpling under the force of her suit’s enhanced strength. Even with the protection of the suit, the pain in her foot travels up her body in a wave of nausea.

She gasps, her body doubling over as she retches, her hand planted firmly against the brick to keep herself upright as she upends her breakfast onto the dirt. She doesn’t even need to look to know more flowers followed the bile.

God, she is so tired of being good.

She finds somewhere safer to detransform and does so, walking herself home with a sore foot and aching chest.

She knows it’s more practical if she made her way home as Ladybug, but in this moment she’s just so  tired  of being Ladybug. She feels like a toy being wound up too fast, spiraling out of control once let go.

She realizes that her outburst with Chat was uncalled for, he never outright said anything that would say he didn’t trust her to take care of herself. His lack of response and obvious upset had set her off, especially since his response had her fully aware he hadn’t been thinking what she thought he had been.

Being Ladybug to her meant knowing what to do.

So why the hell couldn’t she figure out what to do?

Her phone vibrates in her back pocket, startling out of her self reflection, nearly dropping her phone as she grabs it with shaking hands.

**_Incoming call from Alya Césaire..._ **

Marinette really doesn’t want to talk to anyone right now, her emotions feel like crossed wires waiting to short out and take everyone out in the near vicinity. Thinking back of Chat, she can’t help but think they already shorted out once today.

However, she could really use some famous Alya advice.

Before she can change her mind, she hits ‘accept’, and pulls the phone up to her ear.

“Hey Als...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be up a few days ago but I wasn’t happy with it and have continuously tweaked it even after it was considered “complete”. Not too happy with this chapter, but it was very much needed!
> 
> As always any comments about what you want to see/think are greatly appreciated!
> 
> -Bias


	10. Sage Advice

In Marinette’s mind, this call was going to be a very simple case of dispelling all worries and moving on, but all that fell apart as soon as she hears Alya’s response to her greeting. She opens her mouth and her face immediately crumples as a whimper snakes passed her lips.

“Marinette, are you okay?” Alya asks worriedly and that’s all it takes for her to completely fall apart. Her foot hurts, her chest takes every breath of fresh air like it’s full of acid, and Chat’s hurt face flashes in her mind like a warning sign.

“M-my foot hurts and my chest hurts and my best friend is mad at me and-“

“Woah hold on, calm down girl. I can’t understand you when you talk that fast. What’s this about your best friend being mad, I’m not mad.”

Marinette takes a hiccuping breath, her free hand scrubbing away at the fat tears rolling down her face. Normally she would do more to hide her distraught out in public, but never had she felt just so  awful.

“My other best friend, I really hurt him and snapped at him and-“ Her words are caught off by a fit of coughing that bursts past her lips. Her hand is too delayed in covering her mouth and wet clumps of petals tumble down to the ground.

“You have it, don’t you?” Alya’s voice sounds strained, worry seeping into her tone that Marinette could just about  feel  even through the speaker.

What else could she say? “Yes.”

“Oh girl... Okay, do you want me to come to you or can you make it to me?” 

Marinette takes a moment to look around for the first time since leaving Chat and quickly realizes she’s much closer to Alya than she is to the bakery.

“I’m not far from your place.”

“I’ll be outside.”

After hanging up and beginning her walk again, now with direction, Marinette realizes her fatal mistake.

She had mentioned her issue with Chat, thankfully not by name, but now Alya would be expecting to learn about another best friend.

A best friend she’s never brought up, can’t introduce her too, or tell her much about.

_‘Fuck.’_

She’s around the corner from her house and unable to come up with a believable lie, Marinette can only  hope  that Alya doesn’t bring up this other best friend.

For not the first time in her life, Marinette wishes she could just tell Alya. Admit to her she’s Ladybug and just spill her guts about Chat to someone,  anyone , that isn’t Tikki.

Alya’s waiting on the porch for her, quickly grabbing her up in a one armed hug as she leads her inside and straight into her own room. Walking into Alya’s house was usually a struggle to get away from her family, not that Marinette really minded stopping to talk to Marlena or the twins, but for today she appreciates being able to go straight to Alya’s room.

Even when the door is closed behind them and Marinette’s comfortably sat down on the bed, Alya stays standing with arms firmly crossed.

“So start from the beginning, who is mad with you?” Leave it to Alya and her reporter mind to bring up the one thing Marinette can’t speak about and grab it. Marinette bites her bottom lip, eyes glancing away to avoid Alya’s gaze when her eyes land on her laptop.

Maybe she  could  speak about it. She would have to lie, and she hates doing that, but she needs to speak about it or she would explode.

“I’ve had this... internet friend for a while now and we got into an argument because I acted stupid today.”

Alya’s eyes narrow as she shifts her weight from one foot to the other, “How come I’ve never heard of this online friend before?”

Marinette nearly cringes, “I wanted to keep my online and real life separate.”

“I’m going to pretend that makes any sense,” Alya relents and sits next to Marinette on the bed, “Why are you guys arguing?”

“He’s...uh... in love with me. He has been for a while and you know I can’t exactly return his feelings. He’s not mad about that, he’s a really good guy, but I’ve been on edge about Hanahaki and I keep snapping at him for him being concerned.” Marinette admits, her hands twisting together in her lap.

“Wait, he has _feelings_ for you? Do you even know what this guy looks like? He could be a forty year old man-“

Marinette quickly intervenes, “No, hold up. I don’t know what he looks like, but he has offered to show me. I was the one who said no. We don’t even use each other’s real names. Like I told you, I want to keep online and real life separate, at least for the time being.”

Alya is clearly exasperated and Marinette could almost bet if she wasn’t so obviously distraught she would be getting the full Ladyblogger interviewing experience.

“Okay, sorry. Is that why you’re all tore up?”

“Kinda...This whole thing is love based and I want to love him back the way he needs, but I  can’t.  I don’t want him to be sick like me and he’s even encouraging me to talk to Adrien so I’ll have a shot at getting better even knowing that would be it for us. He’s such a good guy and I just feel so bad for hurting him.” Her throat constricts, not with petals, but with the overwhelming emotions taking over her body.

She’s scared. She’s got flowers in her lungs, a hurting best friend, and the entire fate of Paris resting on her shoulders and she’s crumbling beneath the weight.

For the first time Marinette starts questioning who exactly  _Ladybug_ is.

If not the fearless, powerful, brave hero- who is she in those spots?

“Oh Mari...” Alya breathes out and takes her into her arms, hugging her tightly to her. Marinette sinks into her best friend’s arms, tears falling freely into her shirt.

Boy does she cry...with snot, loud sniffles, and muffled wails. The kind of cry that makes you uncomfortable just doing it, but once she starts she just can’t stop. Alya rubs patterns into her back, just letting Marinette cry it out.

‘This has been a long time coming,’  Marinette thinks to herself, burying her face harder into Alya’s shoulder blade hoping that maybe if she tries hard enough she’ll just melt into her and cease to exist.

Once Marinette’s tears slow, Alya pulls back and holds her at arms’ length with a firm look.

“First things first, I do agree with your mystery man, talking to Adrien is a priority. Don’t even try to argue girl, I heard how bad you sounded over the phone. Secondly, we’re having a girls’ night so text your parents. Tonight is just about us, no boys, no tears, and sure as hell no Hanahaki. The shit show can continue in the morning.”

Marinette gives a watery smile, “Okay.”

Alya is right, the drama could resume in the morning, for once Marinette just wanted to feel like a normal girl with a normal life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long time no see?
> 
> I did NOT mean to be gone for so long but when I took a step back and looked at this story I realized I didn’t have enough planned, at the MOST I was only making it five more chapters and obviously that’s far too quick for the pace I’ve set! So I took a step back, planned more things, and now I’m back!
> 
> As always, any comments about what you think/want to see are greatly appreciated!
> 
> -Bias


	11. Here Comes the Sun(flower)

Marinette wakes up to sun streaming in from the window into her face and the smell of coffee. For once, her chest doesn’t hurt, so she wills herself to lay in bed just a little bit longer. Before all this, getting up on time was the hardest thing in the universe, but coughing up petals usually meant she was up before she previously intended.

Sue her if she wants to lay here just a little bit longer before she’s forced back into reality.

Alya always slept on her side and since they’re both squished into her single bed, her spine is pressed right against Marinette’s arm since she’s lying on her back- a position she’s found herself sleeping in more often as of late.

Despite the lack of flowers, comfortable bed, and perfect temperature Marinette can’t quite fall back asleep.

Apparently her bedmate shares that sentiment as Alya grumbles next to her, shifting around aimlessly before finally rising from the bed to close the curtain. Marinette takes this as her cue to sit up herself, the blanket falling from her shoulders and into her lap as she stretches.

“Mom told me that school opens back up tomorrow. I think coming is optional for anyone with... the disease... as long as you have a note from your parents confirming you have it.” Alya may have phrased it like a casual conversation, but Marinette knew that she was really trying to ask if she was coming.

Having to be Ladybug is her priority right now, but the last thing she needs is to fall behind.

“I’ll try to come in on days that I’m feeling okay.” She can work over the details with her parents when she heads home, but having the option of taking off comes in handy for Ladybug related instances.

“That makes sense,” Alya gives her one of those blinding smiles, “lets go eat breakfast before our drama free period is over. We have shit to discuss after we’re full.” Even though the thought of discussing Adrien right now made her chest tighten with uncertainty (instead of flowers for once), Marinette can’t help smiling at Alya’s tone.

Then the realization of exactly what would happen after breakfast hits her and her smile falters.

“I should probably text him.” Marinette says quietly, but she’s not quite sure if she means Chat or Adrien.

Both, she supposes.

Alya nods in understanding, opening her bedroom door to head out, “Of course. You text him and I’ll get your plate ready.”

Marinette just nods, but remains sitting in her spot even after Alya closes the door behind her and her footsteps fade. Tikki pokes her head out from Marinette’s purse, joining the girl on the bed after a pause.

“You should probably get going Marinette, you’ve got a long day ahead of you.” Tikki says softly and the girl tears her eyes away from the wall across from her.

“Right, lets do this thing.” However, as Marinette opens up her purse she quickly realizes she only brought her personal phone with her and not the burner yesterday. Clearly she wouldn’t have needed it since she was getting to see him, but for some reason she completely forgot it wasn’t with her.

_‘Oh well, I’ll text him when I get home.’_ She thinks, fingers gliding quickly over her phone’s screen as she enters her passcode. Opening her messages she stares for a moment too long at his contact, as if his name could bite her through the screen. Taking a deep breath she opens the chat and begins typing.

**MDC: Hey Adrien! You free today?|**

Marinette frowns and aggressively begins backspacing.

**MDC: Hey, think we can hang out today?|**

“That’s somehow even worse!” Marinette whisper-yells, hitting the backspace with far more force than needed.

“Calm down Marinette, you’re overthinking this!” Tikki ushers her, pressing against the girl’s wrist. She pauses, takes a deep breath, and begins retyping.

**MDC: Hi Adrien, you free? Could stand a day in the park if you are <3**

Her fingers are shaking as she hits  send  but she forces herself to sit her phone back down on Alya’s bed, double checks that Tikki is out of sight, before finally leaving the room. She just knows if she keeps it with her, she would be excessively checking it all throughout breakfast.

Despite the still lingering smell of breakfast, it’s very clear that Alya and Marinette were the only ones in the home as the girl pokes her head into the kitchen and only sees her best friend getting their plates ready.

“Where’s your parents?” Marinette asks and Alya’s eyes quickly meet hers over her shoulder as she places the plates down on the dining table.

“Dad left before we got up, but mom left shortly after I came in. Hurry up and eat, you took so long that it’s going to go cold.”

Marinette quickly sits down to eat her slowly cooling croissants, taking the coffee from Alya’s outstretched hand. She barely tastes the bread or coffee, normally two of her favorite things, as she quickly consumes both. She’s not that hungry, unsurprisingly, but she feels as though she has electricity crackling through her veins begging her to hurry up.

“Girl you’re going to choke,” Alya snickers and Marinette shoots her a halfhearted glare before slowly finishing her current mouthful of coffee.

“Sorry, I’m just feeling out of it. I keep bouncing between extremes.” Marinette explains sheepishly, thinking about her previous sluggishness and her current invigoration. Nerves always made her a wildcard, but never quite like this.

Well, of course, not every day is the day you tell your crush you love him, but what’s that in the grand scheme of things?

For once, that thought is actually reassuring. Admitting her feelings is very low on the list of things she needs to accomplish, especially in comparison to any of her Ladybug duties.

“I know girl, I can’t blame you honestly. You’ve been hyping up this moment for years, I know it’s not exactly under the best circumstances, but it’ll go great.” Alya assures her, reaching across the table to pat the back of her hand.

“Oh god I don’t even have anything clean to wear.” Marinette realizes with a start, her free hand coming up to softly smack herself in the forehead.

As much as she loves Alya’s fashion, there’s absolutely no way for her to wear her clothes without them falling off her. Alya has only gotten more curvy over time and Marinette has always been quite small for her age. Superheroing has kept her much slimmer than she originally anticipated- slim with compact muscles and toned legs, but slim nonetheless.

“You left that little sundress here last time you were over,” Alya says with a suggestive wink.

“I can’t wear that! What will he think if I wear that?” As most of her clothes, it’s a peachy pink, but unlike them, it’s semi lowcut and stops right before her knees. It’s cute enough with frills on the thin sleeves and a decorative pattern, but it’s a bit dressy by Marinette’s standards. She had only ever worn it once when she went out to a semi formal restaurant over the summer with Alya’s family and promptly forgotten about it’s place in Alya’s closet until now.

“Probably that you’re smoking hot. It makes your legs look _sinfully_ good.” Alya says as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world, rolling her eyes.

Marinette slowly takes a sip of her coffee to avoid answering. She’s pretty confident in her own body, but her crush on Adrien always made her feel too big for her skin in the same weird way that Chat’s crush on her makes her feel too small for her skin.

She decides to analyze that further when she doesn’t already have so much on her plate. Theoretical plate, of course, as she quickly clears her plate and hands it to an awaiting Alya to wash.

A small ping goes off from Alya’s room and Marinette jolts, knocking her knee into the underside of the table. Alya snickers at her clumsiness, then turns back to washing the dishes.

“Damn!” She hisses, sliding out from underneath table.

“Go answer your phone, Marinette. It’s probably him.” Alya says encouragingly.

Marinette gives her a small smile and bumps their hips together, “Mind if I take a shower?”

“‘Course not, you know where it is.” With that Marinette nearly bounces down the hall and into Alya’s room, pouncing onto the bed to grab up her phone like a predator finally getting hands on its prey.

**AA: hey marinette! i’m surprisingly free, want me to come get u?**

Marinette takes a moment to smile at his message, her cheeks flushing pink at his offer to come pick her up.

**MDC: If you want to you can, I’m at Alya’s.**

As she gathers the sundress from the back of Alya’s closet, Adrien texts her back. She forces herself not to throw herself back at the bed, instead scooping it up as she walks into Alya’s bathroom.

**AA: be there in 10!**

Marinette bumps the door open and grabs a towel with her free hand, quickly typing out her response.

**MDC: Cool! I’m taking a shower real quick, Alya will let you in.**

She calls down the hall to let Alya know Adrien is on his way and quickly gets ready for her shower. She takes a deep breath, smiles at herself in the quickly fogging up mirror, and turns to step in the shower.

After three years, she’s finally telling Adrien Agreste she loves him and not a _damn_ thing will stand in her way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s happening folks!!! I was going to have the confession this chapter but as I got writing this got very long and so did the confession scene, so you’ll have to wait until next time to see how it goes for our girl!
> 
> As always, comments about what you think/ want to see are greatly appreciated!
> 
> -Bias


	12. Wild(flower) About You

Marinette was wrong, something is definitely going to stand in her way and that thing is  herself.

It’s easy to hype herself up in fake scenarios she creates for herself as she gets ready, but all it takes is seeing him from the end of the hall for everything she just walked herself through to completely fly from her mind.

He’s wearing a black t-shirt with the sleeves rolled up and not for the first time, she curses whatever growth spurt Adrien went through for bulking him up. Or maybe “bulking up” was the wrong term to use, he’s still rather slender, but his arms are thick with muscle and Marinette feels like his shoulders and chest couldn’t be any broader if he tried.

She clutches her purse strap nervously and steps out of the hall into the living room, “Hey Adrien.”

His eyes land on her and Marinette’s not ready for the easy smile that rises on his face at the sight of her. She’s  especially  not ready as his eyes fall from her face and rake over her outfit. It wasn’t a new thing for him to do, he always made a conscious effort to take in whatever she’s wearing in case it’s a new design. What  is  new is the pink coloring burning a path up his cheeks and ears.

Marinette’s mouth goes dry as she looks over Alya who has a hand smacked over her mouth, Marinette can almost  bet  she’s smiling beneath her hand.

“Hi... you look really nice,” His eyes nervously snap up to her face, his hand finding the back of his neck, “uh is that a new outfit? I don’t think I’ve seen it before.”

“Oh, it’s just store-bought. I’ve had it for a bit, but I’ve only worn it once.” Marinette can’t help but smile a little too big, a bit tickled that her outfit had gotten a reaction out of him. Her stomach is fluttering with butterflies and she hopes it isn’t obvious on her face how lovesick she feels in this moment.

“Right. We should probably get going before it gets late,” Adrien says with a sheepish grin. He leans over to give Alya a quick hug, before opening the door for Marinette and motioning her out with his free hand.

Nervous as she is, she shoots Alya a nervous smile and hurries out the door; practically bouncing down the stairs.

It’s warm, as it had been for the past few days, although with late summer bleeding into early fall Marinette knows her days with heat are numbered. Not that she minds much, Marinette is more of a spring girl, and the quicker she leaves summer the closer she gets to rainstorms.

Alya’s house isn’t very far from the park at all, the top of the jungle gym easily seen down the street grows closer with every step. It almost feels like a ticking time bomb, like the moment she steps foot on the playground all her carefully placed cards are going to crumble to the ground and Adrien will have to decide what to make of where they’ve fallen.

They’ve been friends for so long and Marinette knows Adrien would never be cruel to her, but she couldn’t quite blame him if he decided that her feelings for him was just too much for their friendship to bare.

“Are you okay? You seem nervous.” Adrien questions. His voice pulls Marinette from her thoughts with a jolt. Her heart thuds heavily in her chest and she opens her mouth to speak.

A soft cough leaves her mouth and before Marinette can even react to cover it, soft yellow petals flutter from her mouth and down the street with the wind.

They’ve come to a complete stop, Marinette’s face hot with embarrassment as she stares down at the concrete.

“You have Hanahaki.” Adrien finally speaks, a statement and not a question. Not that there was much of an explanation for your friend coughing up petals  besides  Hanahaki.

“Yeah,” Marinette finally meets his gaze “that’s what I wanted to talk to you about.” Looking at him now,  really  looking at him, she feels guilty for even bringing this up with him. Dark circles mar the underneath of his eyes and he’s paler than normal. How she missed the absolute exhaustion written into his skin earlier is beyond her and now she just had to add more to his plate.

“Okay, feeling alright?” Adrien asks, gently placing a hand between her shoulder blades to guide her towards the park. Pain sparks in her chest like someone set off firecrackers in her rib cage, but she swallows it down with a tight-lipped smile.

“Yeah I’ll be okay. Not in much pain today.” Or she wasn’t before meeting up with him, but now she feels as if she can choke on the pain as if it’s a physical entity.

Marinette hates lying, it’s a known fact,but when she looks at the weariness written so heavily into his bones it seeps through to his skin she can’t help wanting to soften the blow.

She already knows telling him that he caused this would tear him apart from the inside out, especially if he couldn’t return her feelings. Adrien was the type that loves and gives with every inch of his being.

There was a time where Marinette would insist Adrien and Chat had nothing in common, but if they had anything in common it was their ability to love even when it hurt.

Sometimes she wonders if anyone ever taught them how to love in a way that doesn’t tear them apart.

She knows for a fact no one taught Adrien to love in a way that doesn’t burn him up and wither him away- that much is obvious from the way his father treats his affection like something _conditional_.

Could the same to be said for Chat?

She thinks of Chat hiding his feelings for her so their partnership and friendship can progress, him holding her as her love for another person destroys her, throwing himself into the line of fire time and time again with little regard for himself and those countless other little moments that showed just how much Chat showed his love in ways that  hurt. 

_‘What am I thinking,’_ she thinks,  _‘of course no one has taught that boy that he doesn’t need to set himself on fire to keep others warm.’_

Glancing at Adrien’s tired green eyes and colorless cheeks from the corner of her eye, she nearly sighs at the sight.

He’s beautiful even when he looks like a shell of himself.

Marinette frowns at the thought, averting her eyes,  _‘They are so very similar, in all the ways that hurt.’_

Entering the park feels like walking into a battle ground for Marinette. She’s going to throw out every vulnerable part of her and hope it doesn’t kill her in the process.

Which isn’t even the hardest thing she’s going to have to do in the next coming up days or weeks or however long it’ll take for her and Chat to solve this.

She takes a shallow breath and reminds herself that’s a _Ladybug_ problem and right now, even if for just this moment, she was just Marinette.

Adrien leads her to a bench to sit, it reminds her of the last time she saw him and how they laughed themselves silly. It was the last moment of normalcy she had and now on a different bench, in a different park, she was going to destroy their normalcy.

She takes a deep breath, fingers curling into the fabric of her dress.

“When did you get it?” Adrien asks quietly and Marinette nearly startles at his initiation. It felt that the whole world had been holding its breath and let it out all at once after he spoke.

“The night after I left from hanging out with you.” Marinette admits, looking up from the crumpled fabric covering her lap. Her intention is to catch a glimpse of him, but he’s already looking at her.

Their eyes meet and Marinette feels like electricity is running down her spine.

“I love you.” Marinette nearly chokes on her own words in the rush to get them out, heart thudding harshly in her chest as she watches Adrien’s eyebrows contort together in a way that’s so obviously  pain. She has so much more she had wanted to say, to explain to him how long she’s loved him and that she never intended to tell him so soon after his relationship with Kagami ended.

The words are out and he’s hurting and Marinette can’t help but think it’s so _tragic_ to look so  beautiful  while being hurt.

Adrien turns his head and closes his eyes, a hand finding his face to rub the underneath of his eyes as he leans back against the bench.

Marinette wants to speak up and beg for a reaction, but she holds her tongue to let him think.

A moment passes, then two.

Birds chirp in the distance and Marinette feels tears welling up in her eyes.

Another moment passes.

Adrien opens his eyes, hand falling from his face as his gaze finally meets Marinette, “I’m really lucky to be loved by someone like you.”

Marinette’s heart sinks and flies all in the same beat, “There’s a  _but_ isn’t there?”

“You remember what we talked about after the museum after the, uh, statue fiasco.” Adrien’s cheeks are pink, his gaze leaving hers to firmly plant itself on the dirt under his feet.

“What does that have to do with... oh. It- it wasn’t Kagami was it?” Marinette feels as though someone pulled the rug from beneath her and sent her spiraling. All these years she thought it had been Kagami, but it  _wasn’t_ _!_ Was this girl the reason why he couldn’t give her his all?

“No, it wasn’t.” His voice is pained, like his heart was breaking with every word, Marinette could almost see the pain lacing every letter. “I still love her Marinette, I’m sorry, but I do. I couldn’t give Kagami my all because I wasn’t willing to let go of hope she’ll come around and now that I would try to for... for _you_... I’m in a position where I can’t even distance myself from her to get to that point.”

Marinette stares at her feet, stuck between heart broken and elated. He would distance himself from this girl for  her, but he can’t? If he wouldn’t let this girl go for someone like  Kagami then why? Why her? Why couldn’t he now?

“If... if it means anything to you. It wouldn’t take much at all for me to love you too.” Adrien says, his voice hoarse, and that’s all it takes for Marinette to snap her gaze back to him.

His eyes are full of unshed tears, eyebrows pinched together. He’s hurting to show he cares, that’s how it always is with him.

“Okay.” Marinette whispers and Adrien reacts as if she had yelled it out instead, weakly disguising a flinch.

He takes a moment to process her words, Marinette can see his brain working like clockwork behind unfocused eyes. He blinks owlishly and mutters back, “Okay?”

Marinette nods, “I understand. Timing isn’t on our side right now. You just got out of a relationship and-“

“Marinette that’s not why I said what I did,” Adrien interrupts in a way that’s so unalike him Marinette can’t find it in herself to be offended.

“Then why did you say it?”

She can see him thinking again, but then he gently reaches out and takes her hand from her lap. He laces his fingers through hers tentatively as if she’ll break and butterflies well up in her stomach even as her chest burns like she swallowed a lit match.

His eyes remain trained on their hands and Marinette feels the sentiment, it feels surreal for her to be in this moment with him. She can’t even imagine how he’s feeling to be here, but knowing him he’s feeling everything and anything all at once.

“If we tried now there would be a lot of pressure on both of us. On me to return your love or on you to get me to love you, and you don’t deserve to be loved like that. You deserve to have someone take their time with you, but this  _urgency_ Hanahaki puts us under would ruin that.”

His eyes leave their laced fingers to meet her gaze, “I could so easily love you, but I want to love you the right way.”

Marinette smiles, “I think I’d like that.”

Adrien doesn’t say anything, but as he presses his lips to the back of her hand like she’s made of glass, he says it all.

_Once this is over with._

Marinette couldn’t agree more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW. I think this has got to be the best thing I’ve ever written, I hope this made up for the wait.
> 
> As always any comments about what you want to see/what you think are greatly appreciated!
> 
> -Bias


	13. Feeling Bouquet?

Marinette doesn’t get home for a few more hours, electing to spend time hanging out with Adrien. They didn’t move from the bench, people watching and giggling amongst themselves as they tried to guess the lives of people that pass through the park. Their hands stayed firmly clasped for the most part, even after Marinette pulled her hand back with the fear he would tease her for having sweaty palms. It had only taken a minute or two before Adrien was reaching out for her hand again.

Sure, they didn’t do anything worth writing home about, but as she walks down the sidewalk toward the bakery, she feels as though she’ll be stuck on cloud nine for the foreseeable future.

It doesn’t take long for her to make it through the empty bakery and up into her apartment, but when she does make it there she’s taken aback but the way her parents both look towards her when she walks in through the door. Rarely, if ever, did the two of them wait up for her to get home. 

“Oh, you’re finally home. We were starting to get worried.” Sabine frets, eyebrows drawn in close together. Tom nods in agreement, but remains suspiciously silent.

“Sorry, I probably should’ve told you when I would be home.” Marinette apologizes, fiddling with the strap on her purse as she circles around the back of the couch. She came in when she normally did after nights out with Alya, but she didn’t point that out.

“It’s okay, we would just appreciate it in the future.” Tom says, but it doesn’t take much for Marinette to see the glassy way he looks at her. Although she didn’t expect her maman to hide the truth, she almost wishes she had, he has a soft heart and it hurts her to see him upset.

“Of course. I was talking to Alya about school and she mentioned it being optional for people with Hanahaki so long as I have a note. I don’t want to fall behind but I don’t know how well I’ll be holding up.” Marinette admits, omitting the fact she had spoken to Adrien.

An  _“I could love you”_ isn’t the same as an  _“I love you”_ and while that’s enough for Marinette she’s not sure if Hanahaki gives a damn about what’s enough for her.

As hard as it is for her to admit, she doesn’t really want to hear what her parents feel on that subject. While her mom is always reasonable when it came to matters of the heart, her father is less understanding of those who hurt her. She’s not quite sure where that would leave her father’s opinion of Adrien and she would rather not drag him through the mud before they even have a chance.

“Okay, I’ll write a note and have you run it to school next time you go. Do you think you’ll be feeling good enough to go?” Sabine asks and her voice is so strained that Marinette wishes she could just take all that hurt away.

_‘I can,’_ Marinette reminds herself,  _‘Chat and I really need to kick this into gear.’_

“Probably, at the very least I want to go long enough to get work for the day.” Marinette finally answers after a long pause. Maybe she can take a part time approach to school and being Ladybug? She nearly snickers at the thought of leaving school every day after lunch to do her superheroing.

She speaks to her parents for a little longer before dismissing herself to her bedroom.

“Finally,” Marinette sighs as she opens the purse for Tikki, “I’m so ready to get in some comfortable clothes and maybe work on some commissions.”

Tikki flies out of her purse, stretching out her little body from the hours spent in closed quarters. Marinette watches her as she goes, finding her antics amusing as she slips into her sweatpants

“Don’t forget to text Chat.” Tikki suddenly reminds after finishing her stretches. Marinette pulls a loose shirt over her head and nods in agreement.

“I almost did. We really need to set up a time to head to that spell shop, we’re really falling behind on this one.” Marinette sighs, a bit frustrated in herself as she slumps into her desk chair.

Today is the fifth day of Hanahaki and with the day coming to an end it would soon become the sixth day with no progress. Sure they had a lead, and they’ve informed the public of what’s going on, but beyond that they haven’t done much of _anything_.

She pulls the phone out of the drawer she had thrown in it before her interview and clicks it on. To her utter horror, her notification bar is  full.  The oldest message is marked as being sent yesterday, about an hour after their argument. She quickly opens their chat, hoping everything was okay.

**C: i’m sorry abt today, we’re both on edge and it went way further than it needed 2. wanna meet up and talk about it? i’ll bring snacks.  
** _Sent yesterday at 2:32pm_

**C: i guess ure still mad?  
** _Sent yesterday at 4:00pm_

**C: thats ok. can u at least tell me ure ok?**   
_Sent yesterday at 8:01pm_

**C: lb???**   
_Sent yesterday at 11:49pm_

**C: u can go back to ignoring me right after but can u pls just tell me ure ok????  
** _Sent today at 1:14 am_

**C: srsly lb ure scaring me**   
_Sent today at 1:09pm_

Marinette’s heart drops into her stomach the more she reads. His last text was sent right before she left Alya’s to hang out with Adrien almost four hours ago. While she was having fun with him, Chat was panicking over her. She didn’t even think about what would happen if Chat tried to message her and she didn’t respond, especially when she has a disease that can very well suffocate her. She quickly begins typing just in time for another message to come in.

**C: pls jus b ok**

**L: I’m so sorry. I’m okay. I stayed over with a friend and didn’t have the burner.**

His next message comes in before she can even consider putting the phone down.

**C: that’s good**

**L: And I’m not mad at you. You didn’t do anything wrong, I was just agitated already.**

**C: u sure?**

**L: Of course. We both know I would be worse if positions were switched.**

**C: lol maybe**

Marinette smiles softly, despite herself.

**L: That offer for snacks still on the table? We can talk game plan while we eat.**

The next text takes much longer than the rest, Marinette stares at the phone with a wavering smile and finally rests it back on her desk.

“I’m stupid Tikki, of course he doesn’t want to hang out after I scared him like that. He’s probably really mad.” Marinette grumbles, propping her cheek up on her palm.

“Even if he is mad, not that I think he is, you both have a duty to fulfill. He knows that. It’ll be okay.” Tikki says firmly. Although it’s not blind reassurance, it’s logical, and Marinette could use something that makes sense right about now.

“Yeah, you’re right.”

She busies herself for the next hour with a skirt she has been designing since before the Hanahaki outbreak. It hasn’t been touched since then and she was itching to get her fingers back on it. When the burner phone goes off again, she’s much calmer.

**C: yes pls. sorry I was at work. 30 mins eiffel tower?**

**L: Sounds good. See you then.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trying to write a follow up to the last chapter was HARD bc I was just so happy with how it turned out. Just now realized how much texting there is in this fic but oh well. Buckle up for the next chapter bc it’s a doozy!
> 
> As always any comments about what you want to see/think are greatly appreciated!
> 
> -Bias


	14. Running out of Thyme

Ladybug has always been able to read her partner like an open book, something that may seem easy to others, but really  isn’t.

Puns and jokes are rarely used as they’re intended, almost always used to hide his true feelings or to buy time from an akuma. She knows that sometimes, when his smile is just a little too small, that he’s not sad, but for once, not putting on a show. This bit of knowledge alluded her at first, but she now knows that he puts on that show because he doesn’t really know who he is- in  _or_ out of the mask.

It wasn’t obvious at first, Ladybug used to think Chat was just larger than life and that was that: nothing more. It wasn’t until one night she asked what he wanted to do when he was older and his entire body went rigid. It took him only a second to recover, sending her an almost too large grin before saying,  _“This. Of course.”_ That moment to recover didn’t go unnoticed by her, if anything it only opened up more opportunities for her to take notice.

Seeing Chat waiting for her at the Eiffel Tower, sitting with legs crossed and slouched so far down he’s folded in on himself, his palms supporting his face while his elbows rest on his knees is no cause for concern. Chat has always balled himself up into weird positions ever since they met, Ladybug has always assumed it’s a cat tendency, so that wasn’t the issue. His eyes are glossy, unfocused, his mind in another place. Although, his mind almost always is.

The issue is with the absolute exhaustion wrote into every inch of him. Every few minutes he puts too much pressure on one arm, jolting back up as though he momentarily fell asleep. Instead of sitting right on the edge of the tower, he’s strategically placed himself further back on the platform.

She’s sure that beneath his mask he’s got dark circles a mile long and bone deep.

She’s never quite seen him  _this_ tired .

“Hey kitty.” Ladybug finally says, announcing her presence as she plops down next to him. He jolts up when she does, seemingly far more awake, as he sends her a weak smile.

“Hi. I brought snacks.” He says quietly, almost as if he’s unsure of himself, gesturing to the convenience store bag next to him. There’s several sharp, straight holes torn into the bag from his claws, allowing Ladybug to see the several sweets packed inside.

“Thanks for bringing them,” Ladybug is admittedly taken back by the quiet way he’s addressing her. Even in his worse moments he never spoke to her as if she was something to be unsure of. The two have always been on the same wavelength as one another, something they can always be  sure  of.

She doesn’t want to admit it, but his meekness  _hurts_ .

There’s a moment of pause while the two unwrap their choice candies, quietly eating them. The silence is crushing to Ladybug, pressing down on her shoulders with all the responsibilities already piled there.

“I-“

“Are we-“

The two speak at once, stopping almost as soon as they started to give the other lead way. Their eyes snap to the other almost in perfect sync. Ladybug can’t help the little giggle that falls from her lips and it’s not long after that a genuine smile is pulling up on the corners of Chat’s lips.

“You first.” Ladybug insists, wanting to put off telling him about her meeting with Adrien for as long as possible. The truth is that she’s not exactly sure what to tell him. The full story seems too intimate to tell him, like she is rubbing it in his face, but she’s not sure how to tell the story without telling him everything. Her situation with Adrien is simple in her mind, but not nearly as simple on her tongue.

“Are... are we okay?” Chat asks slowly, like he’s tasting the words as they leave his mouth. Ladybug doesn’t need to see his eyebrows to know they’re drawn close together beneath the mask.

“Of course we are, Chat. Why?” She knows why, doesn’t quite mean to feign ignorance, but does it anyway. She’s blown up on him more in the past five days than she has in their entire partnership. They’ve had their petty squabbles in the past, but those are nothing compared to the way she’s continuously gone for his throat at any given opportunity.

When Chat’s eyes leave her own she’s expecting him to back down. Not that she wants him to, but that’s a pattern she’s observed often in him. He’s not exactly the confrontational type, not when it matters anyway.

“Everything I do makes you mad these days. I know you have a lot of things going on, but it feels like I’m always the catalyst.” He says quietly, like every word hurts him to say.

Worst of all, Ladybug can’t give him a straight answer.

The easiest answer is that he’s been there more often than not, wrong place wrong time, but even then that answer doesn’t feel quite right.

The hardest answer is that having him care for her when she can’t return those feelings has never hurt quite so bad. Just last week she was under the impression he no longer had feelings for her and now she knows very well of his feelings. She knows any moment he can end up like her, coughing up petals, and it would be all her damn fault.

“All the stress and pain keeps me on edge, I guess. It’s not a good reason, I know that, and I’ll try harder. I just hope you can forgive me.” It’s not the whole truth, but it’s not a lie either.

Ladybug feels like she’s making more half truths in the last few days than she’s made her entire life. She hates it, hates that she’s been doing the one thing she hates more than anything so often. She can try to defend herself all she wants by saying it’s not an entire lie, but she  knows  better than that.

Ladybug is a liar. Always has been.

Marinette _hates_ it.

“Okay.” It’s that easy. No questioning, no accusation, just  okay . His face reads of acceptance, no anger, no resentment, just a simple acceptance of something that doesn’t deserve  accepting.

For not the first time ever, Ladybug wishes Chat would put up more of a fight. He deserves better than her explanation and she knows that he knows that, but yet he’s still taking her half assed explanation without second thought.

“Thank you.” What else is there for her to say?

“What did you want to say earlier?” Chat asks, his eyes finding hers once more. Ladybug almost wishes she could feel ashamed by being caught staring, but all she can manage is a jolt in her chest.

“I confessed to him.” She says it like she’s pulling off a bandaid, it’s only fitting that he reacts as though she did. He jolts hard, his face twisting into pain, but just as quickly as he reacts, it all bleeds away. His face goes back to impassive, his body forcefully relaxing, but despite his best efforts Ladybug can still see the tension creeping uphis spine.

“Yeah? How’d that go?” His eyes aren’t meeting hers anymore, firmly stuck on the candy wrapper he’s fiddling with in a feeble attempt to unwrap. If he wants it open he could have it open in seconds with his claws, but it’s fairly obvious he’s just trying to focus on something other than her.

Ladybug takes a deep breath, briefly closing her eyes, before answering him with the most honesty she’s used in ages, “Good, I think. He doesn’t feel the same, but he wants to try.”

“That’s...” Chat clears his throat, “that’s good.” His voice is thin, uneven, and almost painful to listen to.

It only strikes her as weird for a moment, after all Chat was the one who encouraged her to do this so why would he-

Then he coughs.

Pretty pink petals fall from his bitten lips, catching on the wind and scattering over the platform.

Panic rips through Ladybug so hard it sends her lurching towards him before she can even think, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him close. Chat makes a strangled yelp and Ladybug’s eyes fill with tears at the sound, ripping herself away from him.

“Fuck. I’m so sorry. I forgot that hurts. I’m so sorry Chat.” She frantically apologizes, clasping her hands together so tightly her fingers tingle in an attempt to keep away the urge to rub the ache away. Her touch would be anything but soothing.

“S’ fine. Knew it was coming.” His voice is hoarse in the way she’s heard from herself every time she has an outburst. It makes her feel sick to hear that rawness associated with his voice. Underneath that rawness, there’s an unmistakable heartbroken tone that freezes Ladybug where she sits.

His eyes fill with tears, his face screwing up in an attempt to keep the tears from falling. He looks to Ladybug, looks  through  Ladybug, and shatters.

“She lied to me.” Chat whimpers, but Ladybug doesn’t know who  she  is. She would assume herself if it weren’t for the lack of  _‘you’_ in that sentence and how it seems like he’s asking to be soothed rather than calling her out for being untruthful.

“Who Chat?” Her voice wobbles with the effort, but Chat just shakes his head hard. Tear tracks from the corners of his eyes, dripping off the edge off his mask and down his chin.

“Can you please hold me?”

“It’s going to hurt.” Ladybug feebly says, but Chat’s already leaning in for her and she’s already outstretching her arms to make room for him.

Sobs wrack his body as he crumbles into pieces, folding in on himself as he presses himself close to her. Ladybug knows that it hurts when he flinches and shudders as she wraps her arms closely around him, but he buries his face into her chest before she can think of letting him go.

Chat sobs like something is being ripped from his chest: hoarse, hysterical and unrestrained. Each sound he makes scares Ladybug more and more, but he’s holding on to her like he’ll drown without her keeping him afloat. Her suit is wet from his tears and the hair on the top of his head is wet from her own.

She can’t wrap her head around what’s the right thing to say, but she can wrap her arms around him. So that’s exactly what she does, holding him close as sobs wrack his body like shutters in a storm.

Chat is larger than life, always has been.

Maybe that’s why it hurts so bad to have him curled up like a frightened child in her lap, reduced to nothing but tears.

For once he’s been reduced to nothing by life, crushed beneath its weight, and nothing has hurt Ladybug quite as much as this realization.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey... so that happened... how we feeling? This was a very hard chapter for me to write because it is SO extremely important to the plot and in many ways it sets the rest of the book into motion. 
> 
> As always any comments about what you want to see/think are greatly appreciated!
> 
> -Bias


	15. Once and Floral

When Chat pulls away from Ladybug’s grasp it isn’t because his tears have run dry, it’s because he’s coughing so hard that he’s gagging between breaths.

The first thing that registers to her is how helpless she feels, watching him choke on petals  _she_ put in his chest.

The second thing that registers is that he is taking this way worse than she ever has. Beyond the visit to Fu’s and the aftermath of the interview, she’s never had such an intense fit.

Maybe because Adrien hasn’t had extended periods of contact with her?

Every cough makes him wheeze out petals, like someone stuffed him full of flowers and they’re just now escaping.

Ladybug reaches out to pat his back, hoping to help him through it. However, when his entire body lurches and an _entire_ _bud_ joins the heap of petals beneath him, she quickly removes her hands from him, tucking them beneath her legs for safe measure.

After a few agonizing moments of watching her partner struggle to breathe, being unable to help him due to making him  worse , Chat finally takes a long breath without coughing.

“This is gonna make our teamwork hard.” Chat rasps, wiping his wet mouth off with the back of his hand. Ladybug follows the motion, absentmindedly handing him a candy from the bag. She can tell his throat is dry, but they don’t have any drinks. She hopes that sucking on the hard candy will bring him some semblance of relief. 

At the very least it’ll get the taste of petals out of his mouth.

“Yeah, I know, we’re very touch oriented,” Ladybug mumbles. Grabbing one another to pull each other out of harm’s way, fist bumps at the end of each victory, and other insignificant touches are very engraved into their partnership and the very way they fight akumas.

“Five days since his last attack though... Is it bad if I hope that he’s compromised?” Even with humor in his tone, Ladybug can tell he’s genuinely asking.

“Maybe, but we’re just human, we’re bound to think unsavory things every once in a while.” Ladybug muses, giving him a quick side smile. There’s a few moments pause and she has to fight back to urge to cry as she makes eye contact with him, pressing her tongue to the roof of her mouth to rid herself of the tingling in her nose she always gets right before she cries.

“Maybe.” Chat parrots back to her distantly, gently leaning himself back, spreading himself out across the landing. His eyes stare upwards and Ladybug can see the way his eyes trace every beam and the way it connects to different parts of the structure.

There was a time when Ladybug would join him, shoulder to shoulder, but that time couldn’t happen until after they set things right. Ladybug may have held him their collective moment of weakness, but she wouldn’t touch him for any reason not strictly necessary until they fixed this.

She’s too tired of hurting him to be selfish like that again.

“What did you mean earlier?” Chat gives her a curious look, so Ladybug rephrases, “By knowing it was coming, I mean.”

“Oh that.” Ladybug holds back the urge to tease him for his choice words.

“I mean, I’ve known from the beginning that it would come eventually, but if you want specifics I started feeling bad after our fight. Just some chest pains.” Chat says in flippant tone which makes Ladybug’s blood boil.

_‘Our fight... he says.’_ She knows it’s a dumb thing to get mad over, so she forces herself not to say anything.

Instead she says, “Well, on the plus side, school isn’t mandatory for anyone with Hanahaki so if you get yourself a note we can finally get some work done.”

“I can’t miss school, bug.” Chat responds, tilting his head to look over at her. Their eyes meet and Ladybug quickly skitters away from his gaze, choosing to look out on the night sky instead.

“Honestly same. I don’t really want to fall behind, but I think superhero business is much more important. Maybe we could go for half a day and then skip out? That’s what I’ve been thinking anyway...” When Ladybug glances back over at Chat she can tell he’s been wanting to say something for the entirety of her ramble, his bottom lip trapped between his teeth.

“What is it, Chat?”

“I mean, I _really_ can’t miss school-“

“Of course you can, as long as you have a note from your father saying you have Hanahaki it’s not... you’re not going to tell him, are you?”

Even without answering, Chat’s face says it all. His eyes leave hers and begin tracing the beams above them again, but even from here she can see the uneven way he’s breathing.

“I can’t. He’ll want to know who and when I can’t tell him I’ll be in huge trouble. Even if I did tell him, he wouldn’t let me leave the house at all and he might even make me get that surgery.”

“The surgery we specifically said  not  to do because we didn’t know the consequences of mixing medicine with magic?” Ladybug hasn’t necessarily ever been a fan of Chat’s father and hearing this most definitely doesn’t help change her opinion. Everything she’s learned over their partnership has lead her to think that the man is, quite frankly, a shitty parent.

“Yeah, that would be the one. He’s not very vocal about it, but I don’t think he’s much of a fan of the cat and bug duo.” Chat quietly humors, but she can hear the way it hurts for him to admit it. She’s always felt pressured by her parents overwhelming faith in them, but she couldn’t imagine if her parents admitted to  _disliking_ her.

“Bug and cat duo,” she corrects softly as way of lightening the mood, “don’t worry Chat. We’ll figure something else out.”

He grins and only then did Ladybug realize she was watching his face again. Regardless of how many times she’s looked away from him during this conversation, she always finds herself back to watching him.

Maybe it’s her own way of monitoring his feelings, but Ladybug can’t keep her eyes away from him.

“I honestly don’t know what we’re going to do.” Chat whispers, just barely heard over the wind rushing by her ears.

“We’ll figure it out, we always do.” Ladybug tries to assure him, but Chat only throws his arms out in front with a loud groan.

“I know we will! It’s just that it’s been almost six days already and I can’t imagine any other way I can get around my father than...running... away.” His tone slows down, realization lighting up his eyes as he pushes himself up into a sitting position.

“Chat, you can’t just run away from home!” Ladybug exclaims when she realizes he’s genuinely considering it, her eyes widening as Chat begins frantically shaking his head.

“No, you’re right, we  both  need to!”

“That’s got to be the stupidest thing you’ve ever said! And that includes when you asked me if bugs took fall damage that one time!” She can’t even believe what he’s trying to convince her of. Chat may not necessarily be the “plans guy” of their team, but he’s never offered up any plan  _this_ bad.

“No, Ladybug, listen to me! My father can’t find out I have Hanahaki, which means I have to go to school full time and hold in coughs. I would be in pain and it would majorly delay the progress. Even with you going to school for half a day it would slow us down majorly, but if we both disappeared to focus on solving Hanahaki we could be done much quicker. As much as I don’t want to say it, we’ve got to face that both of us are on a timer now.” He’s right, of course, which is the worst part. His eyes are lit up, eagerly staring at Ladybug like he’s waiting for her to cave.

The worst part of it is,  his plan makes sense.

“My parents would be too worried, I can’t just disappear while sick like this. They’ll go crazy.” Ladybug says softly, but her resolve is admittedly weak. She’s made several sacrifices to be Ladybug before and she knows it’s selfish of her to think of them before Ladybug, but she doesn’t want to sacrifice her parents’ trust and cause them to panic. Even with that in mind, she knows she’ll do it in a heartbeat if she has to.

“You’re right... even without my father knowing I’m sick he would lose his mind if I went missing. I would never be allowed out of the house again.” He sighs, quickly resuming the position he was in when Ladybug showed up earlier.

His words keep ringing in her head as she tries to work through his idea. They really do need to start getting on the ball, as quickly as possible, but the truth is that life is just  against them.

_Unless..._

“Chat, what if instead of running away we have a superhero pick us up for a very important mission?” He startles at her words, immediately straightening his spine as he stares her down in obvious shock.

“But the only way we could do that is if we knew each other’s identities. Ladybug you’re not saying..?”

She takes an unsteady breath as she considers what she’s about to say. Once she says this, nothing will be the same. There’s no take backs, no redos,and no other options.

Can she really be so sure that this is what’s best for them?

Maybe it won’t be the best for  them , but it’ll be what’s best for Paris, and Paris has always come before them since day one.

It’s their only choice, she knows this, so she opens her mouth and says-

“We need to reveal our identities.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s coming y’all... the day of reckoning is upon us.
> 
> How are we feeling about the placement, too late too early, just right?
> 
> As always any comments about what you want to see/think are greatly appreciated! 
> 
> -Bias


	16. Slow Growing

Ladybug has imagined many times how the reveal would go down over the years, but never in a million years would she imagine that Chat’s first words to her would be-

“Have you lost your damn mind?”

Ladybug’s cheeks flush red before her mind even has time to catch up with his response. When she finally catches up, half a second later, it sends her spluttering.

“No! An identity reveal just fixes the majority of issues we have at hand right now. We need to put all our time and energy into this, but can’t do that while at home, right? If Ladybug picks up civilian you and Chat Noir picks up civilian me for _super secret superhero_ reasons we can leave home for a long time without causing panic.“

Chat stares her down for a moment. He’s seemingly processing her words, trying to find weak points or arguments, but seems to come up short after a few quiet seconds.

He lets out a defeated sigh, “Yeah, you’re right.”

“You don’t seem thrilled about this.” She points out, just a little hurt by his outward distaste in knowing her.

Him knowing her as Ladybug is totally different than knowing Marinette, she’s always thought that  _truly_ knowing her would mean knowing both sides. At the very least she knows Chat Noir seems to like her as Marinette, now she really only has to worry about if she’ll like  Chat outside of his mask or if he’ll like her knowing she’s Ladybug. He may like Marinette as a civilian, but maybe he’ll find it dissatisfying to find out she’s Ladybug too.

She tries not to show that line of thinking on her face.

“Honestly, I’m not. I’ve always wanted the reveal to be on our own time, but I know that this is what benefits us the most right now. The situation just sucks and getting over you is going to get harder after this.” Chat utters, the last part painfully truthful in the only way he knows how.

She tries to ignore the twist in her stomach and offers him a lopsided smile in turn, “Maybe you’ll see the massive pores I’m hiding under this thing and it’ll be super easy.”

She chooses to ignore the fact some large pores weren’t changing anything since he still has feelings for her after seeing her get trashed by akumas for the better part of three years, cough up flowers, and dealt with her consistently picking fights with him the last few days.

She also tries to ignore the fact he’s actively trying to get over her again even as her mind keeps drifting back towards that topic in curiosity.

He looks over at her, eyes bright in a way she hasn’t seen all night and says, “It’s in both of our best interest to make them even larger before then, maybe clog them for good measure.”

“I’ll do my best.” She considers her next words for a second and decides to take her chances, “So you’re trying to move on again? Met someone?”

Chat goes sheepish at those words, cheeks flushing pink in a way that makes Ladybug want to turn pink just looking at him.

“Not  met , but uh, I recently realized that what I feel for one of my friends isn’t _exactly_ platonic. She confessed to me and we kinda got in deep about my ex and... well  _you_ \-  to the best of our abilities, of course. We’re going to give it a go after all this is over with.”

Ladybug is grinning the entire time, but she can’t deny the bittersweet taste in her mouth that’s less sweet and more bitter. She’s not exactly  sure  why it feels weird, she’s finally getting somewhere with Adrien, and Chat’s finally found someone that he’s actually ready to try with. If anything she should be excited, but she never fails to surprise herself with her own feelings.

“I’m really happy for you Chat, maybe we can go on double dates and stuff if all goes to plan.” She finally says, her voice admittedly a little saccharine.

Chat just barely winces, his hand finding his chest quickly, “That sounds really nice, but  _man_ do these flowers disagree.”

It’s quiet for a moment, Ladybug wanting to answer him with a story of her own, but knowing it wouldn’t do him any good. He seems to realize this though, joining her in the lapse of silence.

Never had their silence ever felt so  disjointed.  Their silences have always been comforting, no pressure on either of them to speak or break it, but Ladybug felt as if she was suffocating in their silence tonight.

“Should we head somewhere else to do this?” It isn’t what she wants to say, but it’s what she needs to say. They couldn’t keep talking around the subject when they have ticking time bombs in their chests and a duty to Paris.

They would have to get over what they want, not for the first time, and do what’s right.

“Is it possible for me to take a rain check?” Chat asks with a wince as he glances at the time on his baton.

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Ladybug complies, admittedly a bit relieved. She wasn’t expecting to reveal her identity tonight and the last thing she wants to do is to be in her pajamas when the reveal does happen. Not that Chat would really _care_ , but she cares, so it matters.

“I’ll call when I get home.” Chat says and Ladybug gives him a weak smile in response, the two of them rising to their feet. Ladybug watches as Chat dramatically stretches, arching his back and extending his arms over his head. He looks utterly ridiculous and it puts a smile on her face to see him actually act like himself.

“Before we go though, meet at the spell shop tomorrow after school? After we’re done we can find somewhere to reveal identities.” Ladybug says, sounding more sure of herself than she actually feels. Sure, it would be so much simpler to give him her name and get this over with, but if they  _have_ to reveal their identities they might as well do it their way.

“That sounds good to me. You’ll have to text me the address though.”

Ladybug nods as she thinks back on the piece of ragged paper hidden in the drawer of her desk, words failing her as she watches Chat situate the plastic bag of snacks in the crook of his elbow. The bag is nearly empty, mostly just full of wrappers now, but they have always made a point to throw away their trash.

There’s a few quiet moments where Ladybug wishes she could give him a hug goodnight, but to curb her urges she shoots him a grin.

“Goodnight Chat.” She says through a too-tight grin.

“Night, bug.”

She watches him as he leaves, before lowering herself back down to sit, a low sigh leaving her lips as a sinking feeling takes over her body.

Not for the first time and not for the last, she feels irrevocably, undeniably helpless. She feels like there’s an outside source, pressing down against her shoulders and whispering sad nothings into her ears.

The saddest thing of all, there’s no outside force, it’s just _her_.

She thinks back on the connections she’s made on Adrien and Chat, on what she believes of the way they love, and feels like the biggest hypocrite in Paris.

Marinette breaks her own heart, over and over again- who is she to act as if she knows anything about how others love?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After doing some thinking I realized that the reveal being in this chapter would kill the opportunity to write a few things I had planned to do, so I made the quick decision (seriously, midway through writing the reveal I realized and had to delete it) to push the reveal back by another chapter or two.
> 
> Get hyped guys, it’s coming soon (For real this time)!
> 
> As always any comments about what you think/want to see are greatly appreciated.
> 
> -Bias


	17. Lilac You a Bunch

Surprisingly enough, Chat doesn’t call, he texts her instead. On one hand she’s glad she doesn’t have to speak out loud when her voice is so very obviously hoarse from the aftermath of crying, but on the other hand moving to text feels more taxing than it ever had the right to.

**C: gonna google my flower, was gonna call for emotional support but idk if u would want to hear that**

As much as she wants to support him as he supported her, it feels like something she shouldn’t hear. She knows just how much her flower’s definition exposed how she feels about Adrien, she’s not sure if it’s really appropriate for her to hear how Chat feels about her.

It’s one thing for him to tell her how he feels and another to hear the intimates of those feelings.

**L: Sorry, I feel like that’s a bit personal. For both of us really. We can still call if you want as long as you don’t tell me.**

Shortly after her phone rings and she picks up. The two talk for a while, the only indication Chat found the correct definition was him uttering a sarcastic _‘_ _ouch’._ Beyond that the two just talked, a little more loose lipped with details than they normally were. Nothing crazy, just simple things about their bedrooms that are so painfully vague it could describe any bedroom.

Even knowing that knowing that Chat’s bedroom has a couch in it would have been far too much information before, but now with a steadily ticking clock until the reveal, it means nothing.

Marinette has a harder time getting to sleep than usual with that thought in mind, almost as if the metaphoric count down was playing on repeat in her ears.

The next morning Marinette wakes up with a mouth full of petals and the type of anxiety that makes you feel sick on your stomach. After her body forces out nothing more than stomach acid and flower petals into her toilet, Marinette quickly finishes off her morning routine.

Despite feeling sick and uncomfortable, she does her best to put on something nice for her reveal with Chat later. Of course, he’s already met Marinette before, but he’s never met her knowing that she’s Ladybug. It’s really important to her, even if it’s not quite necessary.

She tries to keep it simple at first, just a nice white v-neck shirt and a pair of light blue skinny jeans. It only takes a moments of staring at herself in the mirror to feel like her outfit is missing something. One missing thing quickly turns into adding a pink cardigan, a thin black belt, and a simple necklace. Maybe it’s a bit much, but she looks cute, and most importantly she’s comfortable.

“Marinette, you’re going to be late.” Tikki gently chides her, but Marinette’s eyes are still trained heavily on the mirror.

“Do I look good? I really want to make a good first impression.” Marinette asks, frantically patting random fly away hairs.

“You know it’s not a first impression, Chat has met you before.” Tikki reminds her, humor thick in her tone. Marinette doesn’t pick up on the obvious joke and begins frantically gesturing with her hands in an attempt to explain her thought process.

After a few moments of Marinette trying to explain Chat hasn’t met her knowing she’s Ladybug and the ever growing amusement taking up Tikki’s face, she gives in with a slump.

“You think I’m being silly, don’t you?”

“Maybe a little.” Tikki admits.

“You’re right, but you know this is a big deal for me.” She whines, carefully sending apout in the direction of her kwami.

“I know it is, but I’ve seen many reveals in my lifetime and this is one of the best setups for one I’ve seen for one in a _very_ long time.” Tikki gently says. With the little bits and pieces she’s picked up about past Ladybugs, Marinette has to agree. Tikki doesn’t speak often of things like that, but she knows there’s been a Bug or Chat here or there that only got their reveal through death.

Marinette shakes the morbid thought from her head and grabs her usual clutch. She takes a quick second to type out a text to Chat with the address of the spell shop, and then carefully tucks the burner phone in the bag next to her usual phone.

With no room in her clutch for Tikki, she’s never been so happy for that night she got paranoid and went out of her way to sew pockets into the inside of all her jackets. She pulls her cardigan away from her body and Tikki quickly tucks herself into the soft cotton pocket at Marinette’s hip.

The walk to school is unsurprisingly uneventful, but in her panic about the identity reveal she had completely forgotten that she would be seeing Adrien for the first time since the confession today too. It’s not exactly life altering or earth-tilting, but it might as well be when Marinette’s eyes find him on the stairs.

Adrien’s always been pretty to her in a way most boys aren’t, and not to say he isn’t pretty right now, but his appearance definitely is  _jarring_.  Jarring in the way that makes her heart skip a beat and she nearly tangles up in her own feet.

He’s wearing a black turtleneck sweater with a grey band right across his chest, the ends of the sweater tucked into a pair black jeans. For once he’s not wearing those god awful, gaudy orange shoes and is instead wearing a sensible pair of black hightops. Marinette didn’t even know he  owned  clothes like this. Especially being so used to his lighter, more colorful pallet.

If the clothes isn’t enough to make her knees weak, the way he styled his hair today can absolutely do the job. It isn’t an outright mess, but it’s certainly less tame than usual, like he had ran his hand through his hair a few dozen times. The definition of wind blown, no hint of the usual model sleek style in sight. He grins at her, all lopsided and buck toothed, and raises a hand to wave at her.

Marinette reminds herself to pick her jaw up off the floor and waves back.

Her chest absolutely  _aches_.

He takes the stairs two at a time to meet her at the bottom of the staircase and Marinette can’t help the fondness that comes over her watching him.

“What are you doing out here? Never known you to be late.” Marinette says in lieu of a greeting. She figures skipping pleasantries is completely okay when it’s with the guy you confessed your feelings to just yesterday.

Also she’s not quite sure what else she can say to him. Not quite sure if they’re going to go back to buddy buddy or push boundaries a bit while hovering that line like they did yesterday.

It’s unnecessarily stressful and she knows that she’s the one making it that way by overanalyzing things.

“Good thing I’m not late,” he winks at her jokingly, “I already checked in with Mme. Bustier. Things were getting a little hectic in the class so I asked if I could go outside.” By this point the two are walking back up the stairs.

“Hectic how?” Marinette asks curiously. It’s definitely not unusual for the class to get a little crazy, but it’s never been so crazy that Adrien has felt the need to escape it- or at least not to her knowledge he hasn’t.

Adrien’s hand finds the back of his neck and it hits Marinette with a sense of deja vu. It’s silly, she’s seen him do that hundreds of times before, but it feels  different  today. She’s not sure how, but she just knows that she’s seen someone else do it.

She shakes her head of that thought, it’s not such an unusual habit to have, after all.

“I ended up getting Hanahaki. I’ve been doing my best to stifle without hurting myself and I ended up letting a petal fall on my desk,” He says sheepishly as if it’s something embarrassing rather than traumatic.

He opens the door to the entrance of the school for her and she slips in, head spinning.

“They’re getting crazy over that?”

“No, I mean it started it, I guess? After the petal fell I practically begged for everyone to keep quiet about it, because we all know how my father is. It didn’t really go crazy until after I went to toss the petal in the trash and apparently Lila tried to claim that she was the one responsible for it,” Adrien rolls his eyes.

“So you called her out?” Marinette asks, shock heavy in her tone.

“Oh no, get this,  _Alya_ did. Called her out loud and proud about it so the whole class could hear it too.” He grins at her, whites of his teeth flashing under the school’s lights.

“No way!” Marinette gasps, but she’s smiling so largely that she can hardly hide it.

“I mean it! Once she started digging into her everyone else started dog piling her with times they realized she was lying. It was a mad house in there.”

Marinette can’t help the way her smile strains her cheeks as she imagines the entire class calling Lila for every lie she’s made. In a way, maybe she should feel bad that she’s happy over someone being ganged up on, but when that person has gone out of her way to make her life miserable she thinks it’s only appropriate to feel some sort of victory. Especially hearing that Alya was the one who started it all. It had taken her a little bit over a year to get to this point, but she finally has.

_‘If this is any indication about how today is going to go, then it’s going to be a damn good day.’_

“On another note though... Marinette, why didn’t you tell me I was hurting you yesterday?” Adrien asks, not unkindly. His tone is soft and it’s clear that he’s not trying to insinuate anything. It hurts that he’s being so gentle with her when she’s the one in the wrong.

Even with good intentions, Marinette can’t help feeling bad when lying.

“I didn’t want to upset you,” Marinette admits, cheeks flushing under his questioning. His eyebrows furrow and he slows his pace to a stop right before their classroom door. Marinette stops with him, far too focused on keeping a ‘normal’ distance from him to notice the utter disbelief on his face.

“You were worried about my feelings when you were in physical pain?” Adrien asks, eyebrows going from furrowing together to raising so high they nearly get lost in the shock of his blond hair.

“Um... yes?” 

He shakes his head, a grin stretched out over his lips, “You really are something else.”

“Like, the good something else or the bad something else?” She asks breathily, knowing that she for sure looks just as lovestruck as she feels.

“The good kind, I promise.” Adrien says and for a moment Marinette thinks that maybe she’s hearing something deeper than fondness. That moment is lost, however, as his hand comes up and softly tucks a stray piece of hair behind her ear. His fingernails just barely pass across her cheek, just a soft fizzle. Just as quickly as he does it, he pulls his hand away, almost as if he couldn’t believe he did it himself.

“Little touches like that don’t hurt, pinky swear.” Marinette promises, holding out her pinky for him to link with his own. He linking his finger with hers, gives it a tight squeeze, and then his finger leaves hers.

“Can I ask what your flower is? If you even know yourself that is... sorry that’s really personal.” She babbles, feeling a flush take over her cheeks after she realizes what she just asked.

“Don’t worry, Marinette. I’m not exactly a closed book.” Despite that he breathes kind of unevenly.

“I can tell you mine if you want to make it fair?” She offers, but the thought alone mortifies her.

“Maybe once this is all over with? It’s Camellia.”

Marinette isn’t sure what a Camellia is or what it stands for, but Adrien doesn’t elaborate so she doesn’t ask.

In that moment, just knowing he would offer that information to her is _enough_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AND WE’RE BACK! Getting this chapter out was a bit hard, but I missed writing this story so much and I just know you guys would be anticipating its return. I have recently started going back to school so that’ll slow updates, but I’m back for good! 
> 
> Thank you all so much for the kind words on my break, as always any comments about what you want to see/think are greatly appreciated!
> 
> -Bias


	18. Taking Root

Like any moment between Adrien and Marinette over the years, they get interrupted.

The classroom door swings open and Marinette takes an uneasy step back before realizing it’s Mme Bustier. The relief is short lived as she sees a clearly aggravated Lila behind her, cheeks blotchy and red.

“Great, there you two are, Marinette can you watch the class while I take Lila to the principal’s office?” She seems frazzled, which from what Adrien described, she imagines she has every right to be.

“Yes ma’am.” Marinette says faintly, but the tired teacher is already bustling down the hallway with a gentle grip on Lila’s elbow.

Lila passes them by, shooting nasty looks over her shoulder, but ultimately gets too far away to do so and turns away from them, hair tossing as she goes.

Marinette gives Adrien a startled look, but he just shrugs, motioning for her to head inside the class. As soon as she walks through the door the room bursts with chatter as everyone scrambles to say something. Everyone apologizes, their words blending together into an incoherent mesh. Everyone but Juleka’s, that is, who hasn’t even opened her mouth to speak since Marinette walked in through the door.

With everyone’s voices blending together Marinette can hardly get a word in edgewise to accept their apology and sends a bewildered look at an overly satisfied Alya. Doing her best not to get overwhelmed by the chatter, Marinette gets into her regular seat. As soon as she’s seated she shoots Alya a shocked look, eyebrows sky high.

“Can I  please  get an explanation on what’s going on? I got a little bit of the story from Adrien but I wasn’t prepared for all... _this_!” She gestures widely with her hand at the chattering classroom.

“Not much to tell, Lila leaned over to whisper that she was the one that caused Adrien’s Hanahaki and I exploded on her. I mean c’mon, I’ve tried to ignore any discrepancies before, but it’s kind of obvious that Adrien isn’t exactly Lila fan number one. What with him hanging around you and only you when she’s here and all.”

“Right...” But admittedly the conversation is running away from her with every word. In front of her Nino is making not-so subtle glances her way, mouth running a mile a second, and Adrien’s face is turning pinker with every passing moment.

“I mean seriously! Not sure what world she lives in where the flower representing her would mean desire, passion, refinement, perfection, elegance, or faithfulness. If that world even exists, really.” Alya rants, her words pulling her away from her gaze on Adrien and Nino’s conversation.

“What?” Marinette asks before she can even help herself.

“That’s what Adrien’s flower represents, keep with the program, girl!” Marinette, is in fact, several episodes behind on whatever program Alya is broadcasting and it shows all over her face.

“Did he tell you that?”

Alya rolls her eyes playfully, “No, last night he asked me to send him reputable flower language blogs and of course I had to look through quite a few to make sure they had the correct information. I just happened to recognize the flower.”

“Oh.” Marinette’s not quite sure what else to say.

“I also identified Sabrina’s. Purple hydrangea. I think I read something along the lines of frigidity and heartlessness, pretty sure purple in specific signifies desire for understanding and wealth. I’m not sure about you, but that describes a certain someone almost to an exact point.” Alya rambles and Marinette’s eyes inadvertently find their line of vision right at Chloé and Sabrina’s empty seats.

It does describe someone to a degree that’s almost scarily accurate, in the same way Marinette’s own flower is, but regardless of what she  _thinks_ she knows she decides not to dwell on anything out of respect for Sabrina’s privacy.

“Alya we really shouldn’t gossip about other people’s flowers...” Marinette scolds, but the argument sounds weak even to herself.

“I know, I know, but isn’t it just so interesting?”

Marinette agrees, but doesn’t voice that, “Chloé late or something?”

“Nah, probably because she got it too. Red aster meaning undying devotion, I think she said. Bet it’s Ladybug.”

“Alya, that’s not what I asked!”

Cheeks red and burning, Marinette’s eyes find Juleka in the back of the room, but as their eyes meet the other girl shakes her head and looks away, jaw set heavily.

“Is... Juleka mad at me?” Marinette asks, slowly pulling her eyes away from Juleka’s dismissive form.

Alya hesitates, for just a moment, and that’s all the answer Marinette needs.

“Oh.” She mumbles, heart sinking in her chest.

“I don’t think she’s necessarily  mad at you Marinette, it’s just that...” Alya trails off for a moment before seemingly deciding what to say, “Luka got it.”

If Marinette wasn’t feeling utterly torn in eighteen different directions before, she’s certainly feeling it now. Unsure what to say, she just looks down at her desk and nods shortly.

“Don’t take it to heart, girl. The situation is just messed up right now, for all of us. Once Ladybug and Chat Noir fix things I’m sure she’ll come around.”

But that’s just the thing, isn’t it? No matter what happens, it always just comes right back to her.

Unable to voice that, she offers a smile stretched almost as thin as her patience.

Even so, that conversation plays on loop for the rest of the day, even over lunch when she responds to a text Chat sent her. When her eyes leave the burner phone from below the table she sees Adrien’s eyes glued to his own lap, eyes a complicated mix of mournful and fond. As if sensing her gaze he looks up, his expression taking as complete 180 as he grins sweetly at her.

She tries not to think of that look on his face when he thought no one was looking or why it bothered her to hear he just found out his flower’s meaning last night. She has enough mysteries and oddities on her plate to last her years, she doesn’t need add his too.

Even though she  _really_ wants to.

The rest of the school day passes in a blur and it’s not before long that she finds herself standing outside of the spell shop waiting for Chat to arrive.

The shop is as discreet as a car crash, which is to say, not at all.

The shop is a lovely white painted brick with a violet door. In the display windows Ladybug can see several herbs, crystals, and books. The window itself has several types of sage hanging in the windowsill. Next to the door is a chalkboard with the words, _‘_ _Simone’s Spell Shop. Tarot card sets 50% off with any purchase over $20 dollars!’_ written in loopy handwriting. In front of the door is a doormat with little cartoon stars, surprisingly kept clean despite its position.

“How quaint.” Comes Chat’s casual reply, but sends Ladybug jolting out of shock. Immersed in her own thoughts, she had hardly heard his quiet entrance.

“The purple door is certainly a choice.” Ladybug says finally, flashing him a grin. Something about seeing him today feels too uneventful, although she’s not quite sure  how. He’s the same Chat as always, messy hair, neon green eyes, and it still somehow feels weird. It’s not like she was expecting a revolution or him to suddenly be different just because their reveal was today.

Well, maybe she had.

She can practically hear the giggle Tikki would let out if she could hear her thoughts.

“A purple door usually indicates a witch lives here. So a choice, but a very purposeful one.” Chat muses, sending her a mischievous grin.

Before Ladybug can really figure out how to respond, Chat’s pushing open the door to the shop and motioning her inside. 

Ladybug blinks furiously at him, hit with an uncanny sense of deja vu, but tries to shake it off as she walks into the shop. The smell of incense hits her before anything else, but the inside of the building is cozy and warm. Different patterned, weaved carpets cover the hard wood floor in several places in the shop. Everything is clean, cozy, and  busy .

Not busy in the sense that there’s a lot of people, but busy in sight and sounds. A large bird in an even bigger cage stands tall behind the counter and a small radio is playing music from beside the register. Several things of art are covering the walls, hanging plants in almost every corner, and several jars with labels catch her eyes from a shelf opposite the room.

Behind the register is a short woman with bushy ginger hair pulled back into a low pony tail and large, round glasses. She doesn’t even look up when they enter, only exasperatedly saying, “I told you on the phone, we don’t sell white sage. It’s indigenous to Native culture and we can’t-“ The lady at the counter finally looks up, cheeks coloring when she notices the two heroes, “Oh! I’m _so_ sorry, I thought you were someone else! I’ve been on the phone all day with some lady trying to explain that we can’t... sorry I’m bad about rambling. How can I help you two?”

Ladybug smiles softly at the kind woman as Chat takes off away from her, examining every and anything he can get his claws on. Eyes big and round as he scampers around the store, Ladybug realizes quickly that she would be handling this investigation on the speaking front.

“We had a lead that suggests your shop may have sold ingredients for a love spell in say, the last week or so?” Ladybug is quick and to the point, sensing that the lady at the counter is at her wits end.

The woman considers for a moment, drumming her fingers against the counter top. She holds up her finger in a  _‘give me a moment’_ motion and reaches beneath the table. With a small heft the woman throws a large red bound book onto the counter and begins flipping it open.

“We sure did, right here on this line.” The lady keeps her finger square on the line but twists the book around so that Ladybug can properly read it. Right on the line beneath her finger are ingredients to what Ladybug assumes must be used in a love potion, although her knowledge is limited in the sense that she can’t actually confirm whether or not that it’s authentic. Next to the ingredients is the date of the day before the first known case of Hanahaki.

“That’s exactly it. Do you guys happen to have any security cameras in the store we can take a look at?” Ladybug asks, resisting the urge to scream in victory. With so little progress in this investigation, any progress feels earth shattering.

“Yeah, we should. Let me ask Simone really quick.” The lady says, before quickly dismissing herself through a door that Ladybug hadn’t previously taken note of.

“LB look at this!” Chat exclaims excitedly, gesturing wildly at something on a shelf. Eyebrow raised beneath her mask and curiosity brewing, Ladybug makes her way over to him to see what has him fussing. Her eyes find a display stand of what appears to be homemade necklaces with vials of what she believes to be potion in the middle and crystals of different colors hanging beside them from the silver chain. She watches Chat admire them for a second, his claws gently running down the side of a black crystal.

“Black tourmaline for protection.” An aged voice says from behind them and Chat shoots up, tail comically lashing out. Ladybug jolts herself, but quickly rights herself in attempt to save her professional image. Standing behind them is an older woman in her early sixties with skin like weathered bark and eyes reminiscent of the tourmaline Chat had just been admiring. Her salt and pepper hair is loose around her face, giving her a softer look despite her strong demeanor.

Ladybug reasons that this woman must be the Simone that the worker had been speaking of, and if the store’s name is accurate, the owner of the shop.

“It’s really pretty, er, what is it?” Chat asks sheepishly, lacking his usual bravado.

_‘The spell shop must be only big enough for one large personality,’_ Ladybug grins to herself as she watches the two interact.

“Protection mostly. The necklaces are a mixture of wards, attractions, and other such things. The one you’re holding is supposed to help with protection, but that aventurine,” she gestures to another necklace with green crystals adorning it, “right there is meant to attract wealth.” 

“So cool.” Chat breathes out and Ladybug is inclined to agree.

Before becoming Ladybug she would find the words coming from Simone’s mouth to be ludicrous, but meeting Tikki certainly opened her eyes to a world of new possibilities.

“So I heard from Bernadette you two are wanting to look at our security footage?” The way she phrases it comes out questioning, but otherwise the woman doesn’t seem confused in the slightest.

“Yes ma’am, we need to investigate a person who bought love potion supplies from you about a week ago.” Ladybug says, remaining her calmness even if she’s filled to the brim with questions.

“Right this way, you two can look through the footage in my office.” Simone’s office is no less busy than the rest of the shop, but certainly more mature looking with a darker wood desk and photos of her what Ladybug assumes is her family on the desk. Simone gestures Chat to take a seat at her desk and pulls up a chair from the corner of the room for Ladybug, promptly leaving them to their own devices as soon as she got them set up.

The room is quiet as Chat slowly clicks through frames and frames of the day in question, Ladybug quietly reminding him of the items every once in a while. Unluckily, many people seem interested in rose quartz, but luckily enough rarely do any of their other purchases match with the other ingredients.

Three or four customers come and go before someone worth looking into enters the shop. A figure with a hood pulled over their head and a frame easily concealed by the bagginess of the cloth. When they enter the shop Ladybug can hardly tell anything about them, but as the two of them watch with bated breaths as the figure picks up every single ingredient listed.

“That’s them, that’s got to be them.” Chat whispers frantically, his elbow gently nudging Ladybug’s.

“It is.” She’s not nearly as excited, leaning in as to catch even the slightest glimpse of the customer’s face. Without a clear look at their face, this footage wouldn’t do her and Chat’s investigation any good.

Then, just for a two or three seconds, the figure turns their head in the direction of the camera. Chat scrambles to pause the film, claws making an unnerving scraping sound.

Chin length ginger hair, big blue eyes-

“Sabrina?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was meant to have so much more in it, but by the time I got to the end of it I realized it was beginning to drag so I wrapped it up with a nice little cliffhanger. On another note, school has been busy but hopefully before long it’ll slow down and I’ll have more time to write.
> 
> As always any comments about what you think/ want to see are greatly appreciated!
> 
> -Bias


	19. Budding Romance

Even with the name out in the air and the still frame right in front of her, Ladybug still can’t believe what she’s looking at. There’s no denying it, she really couldn’t if she tried, she’s seen Sabrina’s face too many times to try to act like this isn’t her right in front of them.

“This can’t be, it doesn’t make any sense.” Chat utters, claws raking through his hair. The two of them had saved or been around Sabrina as their superhero selves far too many times, what with Chloé consistently causing akumatizations in the past. Ladybug herself has been around Sabrina as her civilian self nearly every day for the good part of the last two years.

“You’re right, it doesn’t make any sense for her, but it’s not like she could’ve known this would happen.” Ladybug reasons, a hand scrubbing down her face tiredly. Seeing Sabrina’s face was like a punch to a gut, completely ridding her of the fight she just had. She thought it would be someone else, someone she didn’t know, but seeing her face suddenly makes things feel so much more complicated.

“But why would she even attempt to do a love potion in the first place? She doesn’t exactly seem like the... _witchy_ ... type.” Chat tries, casting a confused look her way.

Ladybug considers, just for a second, Sabrina’s privacy. She wants to protect that part of her for her, but protecting her means hindering the investigation and being Ladybug has always come before everyone else.

“It’s believed she has a crush onher best friend Chloé. Maybe it was a last ditch attempt at that?” She offers tiredly, shooting Chat a cautious glance.

“Doesn’t Chloé have a crush on her too?” He asks, curiously.

“Well, last I heard she’s got Hanahaki because of me so maybe not quite.” Ladybug says awkwardly, feeling fidgety under Chat’s neon gaze.

“That’s presumptuous of you, bug. Two people having it because of you? Phew, you’re just breaking hearts and taking names, huh?” He teases lightheartedly and Ladybug tries to ignore the sting.

“Three actually.” She retorts instead, running a hand down her face in her frustration.

“Scandalous, truly.” He mocks a faint, pressing the back of his hand to his forehead and tossing his head back. Ladybug smiles at his theatrics, warmth flooding her chest at the sight of her happy Chat back. It feels like lately she’s seeing less and less of him.

“Haha very funny, kitty. Don’t you have clown car to be getting into right about now?” She teases, reaching over and flicking his bell. A moment of panic hits her when she realizes the action and she looks up quickly, checking for pain on his face.

His smiling face greets her and a rush of relief hits her all at once. For just a moment she had forgotten and if she had hurt him during that time she’s not sure she would recover. Lately it feels like every step she takes hurts someone, especially him, and it’s so excruciating even for her.

Instead of expressing that she just asks, “Should we head over to Sabrina’s?”

”Good question.” As he says that he pulls his baton from his belt, extending it to quickly check the time. He stares for just a second, nods his head, then tucks it right back into his belt.

“It’s nearly seven, so we might actually want to get our alibis done today and head to Sabrina’s tomorrow?” He says it more so like a question than a statement.

“Right, yeah, uh... we should definitely do that.” Ladybug stammers.

The nerves don’t last long as Chat looks over at her, grin slowly widening in a noticeable attempt to not laugh. When Ladybug crosses her arms and rolls her eyes, it’s instantly like a floodgate is let loose and Chat’s nearly choking on his own laughter.

“God, we are so  _awkward_. ” He manages between guffaws as he exits out of the footage on the computer and stands from his chair. He makes a show of stretching, arcing his back and tossing his arms up wide.

“Painfully.” Ladybug concedes with a snicker, raising from her chair. The two banter just a little bit more, thanking Simone on the way out, and make their way across the roof tops.

It’s cold outside and while normally the cold bothers Ladybug, the nip in the air combats her anxiety like a warm drink against a chill. Her eyes glance to Chat, freely bounding on all fours, his hair as wild as the look in his eyes, and it strikes her that their reveal isn’t going to change a damn thing.

It’s this moment, truly and honestly, Ladybug stops worrying about it. Maybe even starts to look forward to it. Regardless of what happens, he’s going to be the same Chat Noir. He’s still going to tell her the same dumb puns and act larger than life any time the opportunity presents itself. She’s just going to be see  more  of him than just that, she’ll be seeing into those small moments of his lowered tone and unease.

Things will be changing, sure, but it’ll only expand upon what she already has of him.

She’s not so sure why it took her so long to catch on to this.

Ladybug doesn’t have to tell him to come to a stop so much as he feels her coming to a stop, even from ahead of her. They come to rest, chests heaving for air, and Ladybug can see his cold tinged cheeks are red from where the skin peeks from underneath the mask. The area they’re in is secluded enough so Ladybug lowers herself to sit where she’s at and motions for Chat to follow. The concrete of the buildings roof is cold and biting, but the two of them lay back against it regardless.

They sprawl out like starfish with splaying limbs that cross over one another and threaten to smack into each other’s faces. For just a moment Ladybug worries about hurting him, but any time she moves away another one of his limbs finds her again and she takes the hint. It’s messy, it’s cozy, it’s  _familiar_.  Tired and dizzy on adrenaline, Ladybug huffs a laugh as she tilts her head to stare at Chat beside her.

His eyes are glittering under the dark night sky, lips pulled in a grin even before he looks at her. He tilts his head to meet her gaze, his chin brushing his own shoulder, hair flattening against the roof top.

“We’re really going to do this, right?” Ladybug asks, her voice barely a whisper.

Chat doesn’t answer her vocally, just nodding. Unalike any other time the topic came up his eyes remain full of light and his lips curled in an achingly familiar grin.

“Think we know each other?” She asks, almost like it’s a conspiracy, turning more on her side to face him. It’s so achingly childish and reminiscent of two kids at a sleep over trying to talk after being told to go to sleep.

She loves it.

“Maybe in passing. You’ve saved me a few times, I’ll admit.” He mutters and Ladybug’s stomach feels like she’s swallowed several butterflies at once.

“Oh, you’ve saved me too.” Ladybug’s not quite sure if she meant it in the way he meant it. Chat has saved her in the physical way, more times than she can count, but mentally Chat’s saved her a million times over.

Chat gave her the strength to be Ladybug, to continue on even when things get hard. She can’t even imagine life without him.

She can only hope she’s been something like that to him too.

“Want me to go first?” Chat asks and Ladybug’s already nodding before she can even second guess it.

It’s now or never and they have a duty to do.

“Claws in.”

If feeling Chat detransform felt like embers parting from a flame, Ladybug can only describe seeing it as white hot energy. Green blitzes down his body, almost too bright to look at, but she pushes through. Black leather makes way for black cotton and skinny jeans. Green eyes become more human like and short, kept nails replace sharp claws.

As soon as the transformation settles, everything falls into place. Adrien Agreste is laying across from her, nervous smile bracing his lips and gentle eyes staring back at her.

“Oh fuck me.” She whispers before she can even think twice about her words.

Adrien’s eyes widen and he lets out a small huff out of his nose, presumably hiding what Ladybug assumes is a laugh.

“If you didn’t notice bug, that’s what I was trying to do the last three-“

Without even giving Adrien a chance to complete his sentence, Ladybug mutters her detransformation words. Familiar ice tracks down her body and as soon as it starts, it’s over. The chill of the roof top is much more biting with just the cardigan she wore earlier offering protection.

Marinette stares back at Adrien and nothing and everything has changed at the same time.

“Oh fuck me.” Adrien gapes, unknowingly repeating her words from earlier. She lets out a snort of laughter, pausing as he gives her a mock dirty look, but it’s not before long before he cracks and they’re both laughing.

Her cheek finds his arm right before his elbow, resting cold skin against the warmth of his cotton turtleneck. Instead of the pain she nearly anticipated feeling, she felt nothing at all beyond the giddy lightheartedness buzzing beneath her skin. Adrien is grinning so brightly, so beautifully, it nearly sends Marinette into hysterics. His free arm softly falls around her waist, his hand cautiously finding the middle of her back to bring her in closer to hold her.

His ring indents against her back and it’s the most soothing thing she’s ever felt.

Between the two of them, Adrien and Chat, the ring was always ever present. Regardless of who was in that moment with her, the ring was always there, a hint for her if she ever dared looking hard enough.

She peers up at him and finds him already staring, fond.

In just a few moments they would have to suit up and convince each other’s parents that they’re on a mission, but surely just for this moment she’s allowed to indulge in the touch she’s been craving for so long.

Marinette draws in a little closer and Adrien pulls her in the rest of the way, resting his chin against her skull. The point of his chin kind of hurts, but Marinette can’t be bothered to care.

In this moment, it was just them, and nothing else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO IT FINALLY HAPPENED, HOW ARE WE FEELING? It’s my eighteenth birthday today so as a gift to you and to myself I nailed out this chapter as quickly as possible to share it. I hope it met expectations!
> 
> As always any comments about what you want to see/ think are greatly appreciated.
> 
> -Bias


	20. Skip a Beet

Pulling apart is a feat in of itself, but after a few minutes of grumbling and griping at the idea of it, the two finally made the executive decision to get going. Soon their parents would be beginning to wonder where they were- Adrien especially.

They suit up with minimal issues beyond Plagg giving them a hard time and being dramatic, but when Tikki swiftly bats him over the head he reluctantly powers Adrien up without another complaint.

Something tells Marinette maybe she should expect some earth shaking, mind blowing realization to hit her- even after the fact. Watching Chat’s magic envelop Adrien is awe inspiring, but in no way out of place. Instead of trying to fit two pieces together it’s like overlapping two images and finding out they lined up perfectly all along.

It’s no different than watching him detransform, but it’s new, it’s fresh, and she can’t help but be a little breathless as she watches.

His hair is like spun gold from the gleam of the nearest street light, his eyes glittering with mischief, and his mouth pulled into the sharpest grin. When he catches her staring it’s like all his sharp edges round out, his eyes filling with a fondness that makes her feel like her mouth has been stuffed plum full of cotton and his smile grows smaller, coy almost.

“You’ve gotta stop staring at me like that, I don’t think my ego can take the boost.” Chat playfully teases as soon as his transformation has fully taken affect.

“I’m not staring at you like anything, your ego just constantly inflates on its own.” Marinette teases, but she knows good and well any way he says she’s looking at him is probably right. Tikki laughs from the comfort of Marinette’s cardigan pocket and the feeling makes her grin just a tad.

He crosses the distance between them quickly, lithe and in a not-so-subtle imitation of his name sake. She tries to keep her breathing steady as his hand raises to cup her cheek, leather feeling impossibly soft against the apple of her cheek. The look of absolute delight that crosses his face tells her almost instantly that her attempt to play it cool hasn’t worked at all. Instead of trying to fight it she lets out a quiet little sigh, gently pressing more of her face into his hand.

“Now this... this is too much power.” Chat mutters, the teasing lit in his tone from earlier long gone. He sounds almost awed, like witnessing a wonder of the world for the first time.

“You can disintegrate anything you touch with just a single word and  this  is too much power?” With the emphasis of her word she raises an eyebrow, hand coming to grasp loosely at his wrist.

“Without a doubt.” There’s this look in his eyes that’s instantly dried up her mouth and for once, she can’t fathom a word to say at all. She could fire back at him something witty, or try to be soft with him too, but frankly Marinette doesn’t know where they stand.

Maybe it seems simple from an outside perspective, they both love each other, but it’s not just  that  simple. Loving Adrien hasn’t been the only reason Marinette hadn’t pursued something with Chat, although it played quite a large role, at the end of the day the biggest determining factor had been Chat Blanc and their partnership as a whole. 

Logically she knows they’re  far  beyond the timeline where Chat Blanc existed, but what is there to say they couldn’t come back around to that point in time like a sick play back button? Maybe they’re just destined for pain in every single route that they live, maybe every single moment -no matter what they do- will bring them back to icy blue and shocking white.

That thought alone is enough to make her pull back. It isn’t an abrupt retreat and yet when Marinette slowly tilts her head from his palm, Chat’s pulling his hand away like he just got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

“We, uh, should probably start heading to my place.”

Earlier she had been under the assumption that they would be clearing him first, but Adrien said it would be better if Marinette went first so that if things went south with his father it wouldn’t negatively impact Marinette’s alibi.

Hence why he’s currently suited up and she’s not.

There’s something about knowing that Chat and Adrien is the same person that makes his father even worse in her eyes. With being Adrien’s friend she’s always known his father to be aloof and unfair, but being Chat’s partner has taught her that his father is often times downright neglectful and hateful. 

It’s concerning, she admits, even more so concerning that he’s so insistent things are going to go poorly at the mansion.

Instead of keeping that thought to herself like she’s so used to doing, she voices it.

To his credit, Chat doesn’t really try to argue with her, or defend his father like he’s done in the past. He nods as she voices her concerns and when she’s done his cat ears are a bit droopy, but he doesn’t seem to completely wilt like she’s used to.

“You’re taking what I said suspiciously well and quietly, at that.” Marinette adds on, a quick after thought that leaves her mouth before he really even has a proper chance to make any sort of racket. 

“It’s not news that my father is a lot to deal with, Marinette. Not to me, not to you, I can’t really argue anything you just said.” He shrugs as he ends his statement and yet it leaves Marinette wanting more. She wants answers for his worries, wants him to  confide in her, but could she really argue that point with him when he’s completely agreed to any and all of her concerns? 

Honestly, what is she meant to do, argue with him about him not arguing? 

Marinette has to bite down a grin at the audacity of that thought. Only  _she_ could think of the plausibility of arguing with someone because they didn’t argue with her first.

“Alright princess, we need to head back to your tower before this cat gets skinned.” Instead of heaving her up and tossing her around like she’s come to expect of him, he just crouches down with his back toward her.

For an awkward moment Marinette isn’t quite sure what he’s insinuating and then it hits her like a lead pipe, climbing onto his back for a piggy back ride. When she’s comfortably settled, Chat rises up to his full height, one of his hands briefly finding the underneath of her thigh to hike her up further on his hips, before letting her go all together.

“Hold on tight, I can’t keep a grip on you and my baton at the same time.” He says and Marinette lets out a pitchy laugh at the implications.

“Stop that.” He mutters, tips of his ears burning red, and then he takes off like a shot. Letting out a startled yelp, she clambers to get a more solid grip around Chat’s neck, her legs impulsively tightening around his hips as the air whistles around her.

Doing this while transformed is so,  _so_ different. Right now she feels so unbearably fragile and human hanging onto Chat with no regard as to whether or not she’ll fall off him as he maneuvers through Paris, alternating between running over rooftops and using his baton as leverage to reach buildings he couldn’t otherwise reach.

It’s absolutely terrifying, bone chilling even, until it’s not.

They land in front of the bakery with an ease Chat’s perfected over their years of superheroing. Marinette’s stomach rolls as she carefully brings herself down for Chat’s back, even as her toes hit the ground she keeps a steady hand on his shoulder until she knows she’s not going to instantly drop the moment she touches the ground.

Almost as soon as they land does the door fly open and Tom hurries out the door, Sabine quickly behind. There’s not much time to react before the man is grabbing her up in a tight hug, uttering barely comprehensive blubbers about how worried they were. 

Her face burns a bright red, the hand not trapped between their bodies pushing at Tom, “Papa! Put me down! I’m fine!”

“Oh put the girl down, Tom. You’re embarrassing the daylights out of us both in front of Chat Noir.” Sabine says exasperatedly.

Seeming to remember hisself and come to the realization that they have company, Tom easily sets Marinette down. Cheeks flushed red she begins smoothing out the wrinkles in her clothes, ignoring the cheeky grin Chat’s sporting from just the corner of her eye.

“And I’ll bet you’re the reason Marinette is home late then, hm?” Sabine asks, eyebrow raised as she stares Chat down. Despite her initial reaction, it didn’t take a genius to realize Sabine was terribly angry, and Chat’s smile slides off his face.

“Yes ma’am, I think this might be a conversation we may want to step inside for however.”

Instead of responding Sabine just nods, motioning open the door of the bakery for everyone to step inside. 

The bakery is warm like always, which would have done wonder heating the chill off Marinette’s face if the blush hadn’t done so already. 

Chat is the last one in, gently closing the door behind him, before shooting her a smile that nearly buckles her knees. It’s  painfully embarrassing knowing he has this effect on her and knowing that he knows that he has this power of her. 

It’s not a one sided thing, she knows that, so she shoots him a soft smile and watches as he nearly trips over the welcome mat.

Revenge- in the sweetest, most innocent manner.

“What’s the deal then? Out late with not even a single text to let us know where you are and now Chat Noir is bringing you home. You’re not in trouble are you?” Sabine frets, although her tone is still full of heat.

“Or on a date.” Tom interjects.

“Papa.” Marinette grumbles, hand pressing hard against her face. If she thought her face was warm before, nothing could compare to the lava pool residing underneath the skin of her cheeks.

“Mr. Dupain, as flattered as I am about the suggestion, we both happen to be spoken for.” Marinette glares at him between the cracks of her fingers, but Chat is already soldiering on, “I’m here strictly on business. Sorry for bringing her back late, but it’s come to my attention that Marinette may be a target of the person behind Hanahaki and would be much safer where Ladybug and I can protect her. We’ve been out all day discussing ideas and this is all we could come up with.”

“Well... if you think it’s for the best, I can hardly disagree.” Sabine says, any and all heat from her voice gone as a frown settles on her lips. Tom nods in agreement, wrapping an arm around his worried wife’s shoulders in an attempt to soothe her.

It seems the mention of either of them being spoken for flew right over their heads with the mention of Marinette’s safety being compromised heavy on their minds. Sabine quickly motions for Marinette to go up to her room and pack her bags and she does so, afraid they’ll suddenly change their minds.

She almost wishes she had thought to do it this morning before school, but instead of complaining she begins throwing clothes haphazardly into the overnight bag she usually brings to Alya’s place. She tosses a few of the packaged cookies hidden about her room into the bag as well, unsure of whether or not they’d be able to get anything in their time away. Tikki situates herself in the overnight bag and Marinette tosses her clutch on the bed, leaving the burner phone inside. She guesses there’s hardly any reason for it now, but she’s not certain.

Nothing about their trip beyond this is certain, hell, Marinette isn’t even sure where they’d be sleeping that night.

All she knows is that come morning, they’ll be following their first lead, and she’ll be damned if this disease lasts any longer than it has to even if she has to spend the night in a garbage can.

Overnight bag slung over her shoulder, Marinette thunders down the stairs quicker than she ever dared to go before. She nearly trips on the last stair but quickly corrects herself.

Chat grins as she enters the bakery and she fights back the heat rushing to her cheeks. She quickly bids her parents goodbye and left out the bakery door into the cool air, Chat trailing behind her.

“So I’m spoken for now?” Marinette hisses, hiking her bag up her arm. Chat grins for just a moment, street light making the white of his teeth gleam.

“Are you not?” He asks slyly as he motions to a nearby alleyway. Marinette rolls her eyes and keeps her lead in front of him, knowing he’s following close behind by the heavy step of his boots on the concrete.

For the last three years she’s been spoken for, even if not in the literal sense, committed to Adrien long before he even knew he was committed to her too. Maybe in a different name under a different identity, but he had been spoken for too. Both of them too hooked up on a person to truly open themselves up for love. In every sense of the word but literal, Marinette was Adrien’s just as Chat had been Ladybug’s.

Instead of saying that she tosses the question right back to him with a raised brow, “Are you?”

“If I had it my way, then soon, yes.” He says cheekily. Marinette tried to ignore the way her heart hammers in her chest, offering him a pointed look instead.

“Back to business then!” Chat chirps, chipper as ever, before letting his transformation drop. Marinette tries not to ogle him too long, averting her eyes from him as soon as his detransformation is completely over with, before transforming herself. When her magic is done chilling her to the bone, she catches Adrien’s gaze- lovesick and as sappy as the cheesiest Valentine’s Day poem.

She understands earlier, that feeling of far too much power, especially as she crosses the very short distance between them as his face progressively becomes pinker and pinker.

Plagg’s neon eyes dart between the two of them and with a snicker utters, “Oh  this  has gotta be good” and flies into the opening in Ladybug’s overnight bag to fill the spot Tikki had just vacated.

“C’mon handsome, gotta get you back home before your dad has an even bigger conniption fit than he’s probably already having.” Before Adrien can really react, Ladybug is handing him the overnight bag. Dazedly Adrien tosses the straps securely over his shoulders and not a moment after does Ladybug wrap an arm around him, tosses her yo-yo around the nearest fixture and  swings .

If Marinette was questioning her fragile human life while being hauled by Chat, Adrien is absolutely  living for this moment- regardless of his fragile mortal life. When they first take off his fingers scramble, attempting to get a better grip on the material of the skin tight suit, but, as you could imagine, it’s simply impossible. After his moment of panic, however, Adrien lets out an excited  whoop!  that echoes impossibly loud in the night.

Ladybug laughs, cheeks feeling like they’re splitting under the sheer width of her smile.

They arrive at the mansion far sooner than either of them really want to, Adrien’s fear of his father’s reaction earlier had only made Ladybug more on edge at the sight of the building as the two of them descend within the large fence and onto the grounds. The two are hardly settled on the ground before the door is thrown open, Nathalie standing there with tablet in hand and a fuming Gabriel Agreste standing behind her.

Not for once in her life, Ladybug has noted Adrien’s luckiness at resembling his mother over his father. Gabriel has one of those severe faces that doesn’t for a second betray the image of the powerful, cruel man he is. His eyes are almost like ice in the way they track up and down her body, not unalike the way her magic feels in that regards, but certainly less welcome. His thin lips are pursed, light eyebrows drawn in closely, and his sheer height is intimidating.

Even without seeing them side by side, the only person Ladybug can imagine could even rival his height is her father, and even then she thinks Gabriel might have at least a good few inches over him!

“I see you’re finally home Adrien and it seems as though you’ve brought a  _guest_. ” The way he says ‘guest’ feels almost like a dirty word, his eyes hard and appraising.

“Yes sir, Ladybug really needed to speak with me and-“

“Enough Adrien, she’s perfectly capable of explaining why she’s here. Come in now, Ladybug, I’m sure it’s quite cold outside.” Hearing him interrupt him like he’s not saying anything important at all sets Ladybug’s blood on fire, worst of all was the way he didn’t leave her gaze the entire time, not even acknowledging his son with his gaze.

“Let’s head inside then.” Ladybug says in forced politeness, her hand gently finding the middle of Adrien’s back to usher him up the stairs. Gabriel has already sunk back into the room before they’re even up the stairs, leaving Nathalie to hold the door for them as they pass her into the house.

As they stop just inside the door frame, Ladybug drops her hand.

Why in the world anyone would buy a house of these proportions to leave it painfully empty and  bland  is completely lost on Ladybug. Especially when said house is that of a designer! Just standing in their foyer her mind is running dozens of different improvements she could easily make to the room.

“So, pray tell Ladybug, why are you bringing my son home so late?” Gabriel asks in the same forced politeness she herself had feigned mere moments ago. She can’t help but find herself just a little shocked at his civilness seeing as she’s bared witness to the harsh side of him several times as Marinette.

It doesn’t take her long to realize it’s because as Ladybug she holds  authority  over him, an authority that Marinette could never have as just a teenager.

“Unfortunately sir Chat Noir and I have reason to suspect that the person behind Hanahaki has made Adrien a target. We’ve spent most of the evening with Adrien discussing alternatives and solutions, but unless Adrien joins us we can’t guarantee his safety.” It’s the same story Chat had given her own parents, and a damned good one too, so why can she tell Gabriel doesn’t buy a single word coming from her mouth?

“Is that so? Where exactly is Chat Noir, if you don’t mind my asking?” He asks and something in the way he says it reeks of suspicion.

“He’s preparing our place to stay for the night.” She lies, unwilling to offer up any actual information. For just a moment she considered saying he was picking up another person victimized in hopes that maybe her parents could offer more support to their lie, but something about the gleam in his eyes tell her she’s better off telling him nothing more than she has to.

It’s almost as if he doesn’t believe her at all.

“And there’s absolutely no way he can stay here in the mansion?” He prods.

“I’m afraid not.” Ladybug says firmly, tilting her chin up.

“How unfortunate. Nathalie pack Adrien a bag quickly, I’d hate to keep our  _hero_ waiting long.” Ladybug bristles at his mocking tone hidden beneath pleasantries. 

Does he think she’s tone deaf or is he being purposefully haughty for the sake of it?

It’s agonizingly quiet in the foyer as the three of them stand there, not saying anything and staring into space. Right as Ladybug believes she’s going to lose her mind if she has to stare at the god awful painting at the head of the stairs for a single minute longer, Nathalie comes over with a duffle bag in hand. She passes it to Adrien and with a swift nod to the two, makes her way back up the stairs.

“Lovely seeing you Ladybug, stay safe Adrien.” Gabriel says and without so much as another glance, he exits the foyer with Nathalie in tow. The two head out the mansion themselves, pushing open the gate and heading out onto the street.

Ladybug is still steaming at the interaction when Adrien throws his arms around her, lifting her up until her toes no longer reach the ground.

“Woah!”

“That was so cool! You’re so awesome! I can’t believe you held your ground like that! I can’t believe he even let me go!” Adrien exclaims, beginning to spin her. Ladybug yelps, scrambling to grab his shoulders out of hear he will drop her. A part of her is fearful of someone seeing Adrien interacting with Ladybug like this, but the sun has long since set and no one is in sight so she does very little to stop his onslaught of hyperactive attention.

“Oh my god you’re going to make me sick, Adrien!” Ladybug yelps with a shrieking laugh that’s only slightly embarrassing.

Heeding her warning, he stops spinning and gently lets her back down. Dizzy as she is, Ladybug firmly keeps her hands on his shoulders until the world stops spinning like a top around her.

“Alright. Now that that’s solved, we have a new problem. Where are we sleeping tonight?” Ladybug finally says, reluctantly backing out of Adrien’s grasp once her vision is back to normal.

“Oh don’t worry, I’ve got that covered!” Adrien grins, his smile all Chat with sharp edges and mischievous. He quickly tugs her into an alley way so that he can transform and Ladybug can’t help tracking his every movement as his magic washes over him.

“Lead the way.” She says after his magic settles and he does just that, catapulting away with a wink and a smile.

Ladybug grins wickedly and gives chase, recognizing the challenge in his eyes, throwing her yo-yo with all her might.

A game of cat and mouse, just a moment of fun between two teenagers that have had their lives drastically changed in the last twenty four hours- more so than the last few years.

For once, Ladybug doesn’t feel bad about doing anything that isn’t benefiting Hanahaki  _right this second_ ,  just letting herself enjoy the moment for what it is.

What’s just one moment?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a few things I want to address: this chapter is MASSIVE, nearly 4,000 words! Also the chapter titles aren’t so much flower based as gardening/plant based in general (and have been this way for a hot moment) so you’ll have to ignore how painfully cringey they’re going to be in this end stretch. You’ll also notice that we finally have a set number of chapters to look forward to, the end is in sight! The main plot is solved and all that’s left to do now is wrap everything up in a pretty bow.
> 
> As always any comments about what you think/ want to see are greatly appreciated! 
> 
> -Bias


	21. Pressing of Tulips

Ladybug wishes she could say she’s surprised when they land outside Le Grand Paris, but she’s far from it. They could’ve easily gotten a hotel anywhere for free, but nowhere was quite as low-key for celebrities- heroes included, she supposes.

Ladybug hikes up her bag further up on her shoulder, arms burning from the use of her yo-yo with something weighing down on her arm. Turns out carrying someone who can support their own weight is very different from having a heavy bag like dead weight against her shoulder.

They don’t exchange words, only walking into the hotel with quiet ease. It’s getting late at this point and admittedly she’s exhausted, but despite her fatigue she knows that at some point tonight they need to talk. There’s so many years of miscommunications and secrets that Ladybug isn’t quite sure she could get to them all in one night, but honestly the thought of having someone to confide all of herself to is dizzying.

However concerning that may be, it’s far from her only thought, her mind constantly straying to his free hand swinging at his side with an empty palm. It would be so easy just to take it between hers, so easy to squeeze their fingers together and hold his arm between her own. She could rest her cheek on his shoulder, gaze up at him, and catch him staring back. She could kiss him. She really could.

She knows he’ll let her do it too and maybe that’s the scariest part.

She shakes the thought from her head just as they reach the front desk, the receptionist clearly in awe and she looks between the two with comically wide eyes.

“Is the mayor around? We need to speak to him.” Chat asks politely, sending a charming smile to the young woman. Her cheeks turn red at an alarmingly fast pace, grappling for the phone at her desk clumsily.

Ladybug finds herself pursing her lips, but doesn’t do much else. The green monster that lurks inside her wants to snatch up his arm and press herself so far into his side that she melts into him, but the reasonable side of her thrives off the fact that he only has eyes for her- quite literally if the gaze he has on the side of her face means anything.

She looks up and catches him staring, his smile deepening when their eyes meet. Her cheeks heat and she smiles back, but reserves herself to just that. She could never trust herself if she got too many of his affections before he even know the full extent of her feelings; that includes all of the harebrained plans that she came up with when she was young and stupid.

Although, she reckons she’s still young and stupid, just less so.

“You look exhausted,” Chat murmurs, his voice low so that it wouldn’t echo throughout the empty lobby. His voice rumbles when he does that and she resists the urge to kiss the sound out of his mouth.

“I am.” She admits, the two of them have had a very eventful day. Despite the heaviness of her eyelids she knows that it’s far from over and the thought alone makes her anxious all over again.

“You can rest against my shoulder if you like, close your eyes until I get us a room.” He offers and Ladybug rolls her eyes.

“As if I’ll fall asleep standing up, Chat.” Despite that, she leans her head against his shoulder and rests her eyes. Surprisingly enough, she actually  does  fall asleep standing up, if only for a moment. She embarrassingly startles awake when Mr Bourgeois’s booming voice addresses Chat.

“Ladybug, Chat Noir! What do I owe the pleasure to?” Blearily and with a racing heart, she pulls her head off Chat’s arm in an instant, standing up straight.

“Mr Bourgeois! We are doing some work tonight-“

“Say no more! I’ll get you two settled in a room as soon as possible. You two can stay as long as you need, just let me know when you check out.” The mayor says cheerfully, motioning for the secretary to book them in. Chat shares a quick look of shook with her and she can’t help giggling at his expression.

The secretary hands Chat the keycard with a shy grin and well placed flutter of her lashes, “Have a nice night!”

“Thank you.” Chat says politely, taking the keycard from her gently so his claws wouldn’t snag her fingers, but just as soon as he has it he’s handing it to Ladybug.

She barely has time to close her hand around the plastic before Chat is swinging his free arm around her shoulder and leading her away from the front desk with a slightly dramatic, “Let’s go bugaboo! I’m exhausted.”

Her stomach flutters and she glances up at Chat with a raised eyebrow as he ushers her to the elevator. His ears are tinged pink from embarrassment and Ladybug almost wants to laugh at the expression on his face. Instead she pokes a finger into his side insistently as he tries to smack her hand away with his free hand.

“What was that?” Ladybug asks, laughing at the way he’s trying to wiggle away from her touch while still having his arm wrapped around her.

“She was flirting with me! I had to let her know I’m spoken for.” Chat whines, continuously batting away her prodding fingers.

Crazy how the suit could protect them from so much and yet be so weak to tickle attacks.

“What is with you and saying you’re _spoken for_?” She muses, not letting up with her barrage on his side. He snickers uncontrollably for a few minutes, grabbing at her hand and finally halting her attack.

The elevator finally stopped at their floor and the two walked out, his arm still around her shoulder and her hand trapped in his free hand, wiggling madly in an attempt to break loose.

“I am, aren’t I?” Chat responds in the same tone she had just used. Ladybug finally drops her attempts at trying to tickle him. He lets her go and she uses the time to look down at her keycard for the number of their room.

“Room 435, also I distinctly remember there being a mention of this being  after  we get this sorted.” Ladybug retorts, but she’s not exactly upset, just confused. He keeps acting like they’re a couple, which honestly isn’t exactly a new development, but it just feels odd to think of knowing that their identities have been revealed.

Honestly, it isn’t exactly a new development on the  Adrien side of things either, they weren’t exactly the poster children for a platonic relationship that day before the reveal even happened.

“Well I can’t exactly flirt with everyone up until that point now can I?” He remarks, rolling his eyes.

“Gotta enjoy your last moments of freedom, I suppose.” Ladybug teases, eyes tracing down the hall at all the numbers. She spots their number just a few doors down and nearly begins skipping with glee. She can’t wait to get into her pajamas and crash for the night.

“You don’t mean that.” Chat says, his eyes catching hers. She can tell by the lift of his mask that one of his eyebrows is sky high.

“No, I really don’t. Under no circumstances are you to enjoy your freedom.” Ladybug says, only half serious, as she slots the keycard into the room and pushes the door open.

“Yes ma’am.” Chat says, his grin heard in his voice. Ladybug rolls her eyes at him and steps into the room, flicking the lights on.

As soon as she steps in through the door she takes note of one very important, very horrifying thing- there’s only one bed. The room itself is large, but not nearly as big as the only other frame of reference for rooms in the hotel. From here she can see the large bed, a door to what she is assuming is the bathroom, two end tables, a small overstuffed loveseat, and a flat screen hanging opposite of the bed.

“What’s the hold up, bug?” Chat’s pressing in close as he closes the door behind the two of them, peering over her head into the room.

“We may have an issue...” She mutters, walking further into the room to give them space. He follows quickly behind, a retort on his tongue when he realizes it. His face pales considerably and it would almost be funny if Ladybug didn’t feel the way he looks.

“This is fine, I can sleep on the loveseat. No biggie.” It seems like he’s trying to convince himself as he stares at the overstuffed monstrosity, a claw softly scratching at his jaw.

Ladybug looks between the loveseat and Chat in disbelief. The loveseat itself probably wouldn’t even be long enough for her to lay all the way stretched out, never mind Chat who is much taller than her attempting to. Regardless of that the cushions are nearly busting with stuffing, she could hardly think the thing to be comfortable.

“Adrien, c’mon, you can’t fit on that. I couldn’t even fit on that. We’ll just have to share the bed with a pillow wall or something.” She says tiredly, throwing her bag onto the loveseat. Through heavy lids she grabs the first top and a pair of shorts sitting at the top of her bag without even pausing to check if they match.

Looking up she catches Chat’s gaze who looks overly thrilled and perhaps a little more lovesick than usual.

“What?”

“You called me Adrien.” He says softly.

“Is that not your name?” Ladybug asks slowly, her tired brain not understanding the point Chat is trying to get across.

“I’m suited up,” He says and then backtracks, “I mean it’s not a big deal or anything. I just never thought I’d get to experience this.”

Ladybug looks back at him for a moment and it sinks in, “Yeah, actually that makes sense, you big sap. Mind if I take the bathroom first?”

“Go ahead, I’ll change out here.” He says with a grin, throwing down his bag next to hers to begin rifling through it. 

Ladybug pads into the bathroom and is greeted by the sight of her masked face on the wall across from her. Realizing she forgot she’s suited up, she quickly mumbles a tired, “Spots off,” and then locks the door behind her. Tikki tiredly flies to the counter and then sits down on the marble, letting out a sigh.

“Sorry Tikki, totally forgot I was suited up.” Marinette says tiredly, pulling her hair out of the pigtails. She shakes her head to get her hair to be less stiff then tosses her hair ties and the clothes in her hand on the counter next to Tikki.

“Don’t worry Marinette, I’m okay, just hungry.” The little goddess says fondly.

“If you want to go get something to eat I have packages of cookies in my bag.” She mutters, beginning to change her clothes. She determines she’s absolutely sick and tired of the skinny jeans after being in her skintight suit almost all day, nearly tripping over herself in an attempt to get them off quickly.

Tikki giggles at her struggle and flies off, phasing through the door.

Through lidded eyes she snatches the pair of shorts and thick sleeved tank top from the counter, putting them on with relative ease. Her pajama shorts are unbelievably soft and she nearly sighs at the feeling.

“Hey, you almost done in there? I need to brush my teeth.” Adrien’s muffled voice comes through the door.

“Please say you’re done, his breath smells like ass.” A high whining voice comes and Marinette snorts out a huff of laughter.

“I’m done, can you grab my toothbrush though? I forgot it.” Marinette calls through the door, leaning over to unlock it.

Adrien doesn’t reply, but she hears muffled footsteps padding across the carpet and determines he probably went to her bag to get it for her. She smiles softly to herself, catching her own eyes in the mirror.

The door opens and Adrien pads in with two toothbrushes and a tube of toothpaste in his hands, wearing a plain shirt and sweatpants.

“Thanks!” Marinette grins, reaching out to take her pink toothbrush from his hands. In an instant his cheeks begin burning such a hot pink it rivals the plastic in her hand.

“What?” She asks, a bit self consciously, tugging at the bottom of her shorts. She freezes and looks down, realization hitting her.

She accidentally packed her Chat Noir pajamas in her rush earlier and now she had grabbed them from her bag without so much as a glance. The shorts themselves aren’t  explicitly Chat pajamas, with black fabric and little neon green paw prints, but her shirt is. Across her chest the words “Cataclysm!” are written in a scratchy font in the same neon green as the shorts.

They’re her favorite pair of pajamas- the first things she grabs out of the laundry when her maman does it- she must’ve instinctively grabbed them while packing without a second thought.

Embarrassing her further, Adrien’s small grin slowly grows into a large beam, “I like your pajamas.”

“Shut up.” Marinette huffs, cheeks turning pink as she snatches the toothpaste from his hand. Adrien laughs at her as she whirls around and dips her brush under the tap. He saddles up beside her and does the same, though with less flair, an amused grin on his mouth.

She applies toothpaste to her brush, angrily sticking it in her mouth and brushes far more aggressively than any human could possibly want. She catches Adrien staring and she gently throws his tube of toothpaste at him, he only laughs more as he catches it right after it gently thuds against his chest.

He begins brushing his teeth too and Marinette tries and fails to avoid staring at him too hard in the mirror. He’s just so unfairly pretty, who can hardly blame her for tracing every line of his face with her eyes. 

She’s on her third run over on the slope of his nose before she gets caught, his eyes meeting hers in the mirror. He winks and she frowns at him around her toothbrush, before finally turning on the sink and spitting the paste from her mouth, running her brush bristles under the water. She sets her brush on the counter, figuring she’s just going to need it in the morning.

Adrien pauses in brushing his teeth, taking his brush in his off hand and Marinette is strangely impressed by his ability to not get toothpaste on the corners of his mouth as he brushes.

“Don’t be like that, I’ve got Ladybug merch myself.”He says mirthfully, but Marinette just huffs at him.

“But you didn’t wear it in front of me! It’s embarrassing.” She mutters, tugging at the hem of her shirt. Adrien only laughs at her misfortune and she shoots him a half hearted glare.

“I am though!” He exclaims, lifting up the hem of his shirt. Just barely peaking above the band of his sweatpants is the band of his underwear, the fabric of said underwear is a distinct red with black spots. Marinette blinks at the band for a few moments, looking up at Adrien with a bewildered look on her face.

If he notices the look, he doesn’t say anything, just soldiering on, “It has ‘lucky charm’ written on one of the legs. Nino thought they were funny.”

She watches his lips move as he speaks and finally she’s had enough, her resolve about withholding affection until they talk crumbling with every passing second. She places her hand right on his hip where he’s lifted his shirt, stands on her toes, and presses her lips to his. He pulls back almost instantly and Marinette’s heart sinks.

“Sorry! Sorry... I don’t know why I did that.” She mumbles, dropping down on her toes, pulling her hand away from her hip like he burned her.

“No, wait, you’re fine. Just- _hold on_.” Adrien says, cheeks burning red as he turns his face to the side and spits his toothpaste into the sink. Marinette bites her lip as she watches him, cheeks so warm she’s sure if she touched them her fingers would sizzle.

He tosses his toothbrush onto the counter and pulls back up, gently cupping her cheek with his free hand, “Come back here please.” Marinette’s stomach is a mess of butterflies, but she comes back up on her tippy toes, Adrien’s hand on her face gently guiding her forward.

Her hand finds his hip again, although his shirt has been dropped back down long ago, her fingers gripping lightly to help her balance as the heel of her hand presses into his hip bone. Finally, after what feels like eternity, she presses her lips to his and it’s like someone set off a smoke bomb in her skull. All common sense leaves her mind and for once she’s not thinking of one hundred things at once, all she can think about is how soft his lips are.

The kiss isn’t quite what she imagined, but by god is it _good_. It’s slow and steady, Adrien’s thumb on her cheek softly drawing circles into her heated skin. Her ankles wobble as she tries to stay on her toes and Adrien takes notice, leaning forward so that she can stand flat. The change in angle hurts her neck from craning it upwards, but Adrien is already bent over as far as he can without completely folding.

She smiles against his lips thinking about how funny they must look and he begins smiling too. Before long they’re barely pressing their lips together between fits of breathless giggles that leave her lightheaded and dizzy.

They would have to talk, and soon, but for now she wants to enjoy the press of their lips and his smile against hers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait, but this was a very long chapter so it took me a moment. Just a little bit over 3,000! This chapter was supposed to go a bit differently and because of the change of plans I had to totally replan my schedule. Don’t worry same number of chapters, you just get the kiss scene in chapter 21 instead of chapter 24. You’re welcome!
> 
> I’m very anxious to see what you guys think of this chapter, as always comments about what you think/want to happen are greatly appreciated!
> 
> -Bias


	22. Reaping What You Sow

Marinette stares at the mess of blond hair from over the pillow wall, her hand draped over it to bury in the soft locks. Adrien’s green eyes are blearily staring back at her through heavily drooping lids as she gently scratches her nails against his scalp.

She just kissed Adrien Agreste silly and now they’re sleeping in the same bed (pillow wall withstanding). Marinette a year ago would be screaming at the top of her lungs.

“Do we really need a pillow wall if I  _purr_ omise to be a gentleman.” Adrien asks tiredly, his voice little more than a grumble.

“If you remove these pillows I’ll scream at the top of my lungs.” Plagg warns from one of said pillows. His fur is brushing against Marinette’s arm from where she’s laying on the wall and she resists to urge to run her fingers through his fur.

In no uncertain terms he warned her that he most definitely bites earlier in the evening when she reached out to pet him.

Tikki is laying with her head pressed against Plagg’s back, though she had been fast asleep for several minutes now.

“The pillow wall is for your benefit, Mr. Noir.” Marinette clicks her tongue, her lids feeling similarly heavy.

“Is it now?” He raises an eyebrow.

“You don’t know how I’m gonna react. I’ve got a superhero  and  a model in bed with me. How am I supposed to trust myself without a pillow wall?” Marinette jokingly monologues. Adrien’s cheeks go pink and a small dopey grin rises on his lips.

“You guys are so gross.” Plagg whines as he rolls over and presses his face into the pillow.

Adrien mutters, “Quiet you.” and Marinette isn’t sure who he is talking to in the first place.

There’s a long pause in which Marinette nearly falls asleep herself, but the thought of going to bed without talking to Adrien worries her. The more she puts off talking to him the more upset he may become. He’s an understanding boy and always has been, but Marinette doesn’t want to push the limits of how far that stretches.

She’s not sure what she would do if she lost him so soon after getting a taste of what they could be.

“You awake?” She asks quietly.

“Mhm.” He mutters back, sounding more asleep than awake, but she takes what she can get.

“We should really talk.”

“That’s not scary at all,” He yawns, “Alright then, lay it on me.”

“You know how how I’ve been in love with you since... like forever?” Good going Marinette, state the obvious.

“So I’ve been told, yes.” Adrien mumbles back and she can hear the humor in his voice as he speaks. She tries to ignore it, gently scratching her nails against his scalp.

“I haven’t always done the most _savory_ things, I guess you could say, regarding you. It all mellowed out once you made things official with Kagami, but that doesn’t exactly erase the things I did before then.”

“I did the same stuff Marinette. I constantly flirted, got you flowers, and asked you out. We were dumb kids, that kind of thing just happens. We both grew out of it and that’s what matters.” He responds, his voice just a low murmur.

“Yeah, you’re right, but I know about the things you did. You don’t know about the things I did, it doesn’t feel fair.” Or mature either, Marinette is a bit ashamed to admit that if her feet were planted on the floor she would stomp them.

“If you want to tell me, you can, I just don’t really want to apply things in our past to right now. If I did I think I’d fall apart.” Adrien admits and Marinette can’t help the furrow that forms between her eyebrows.

“What do you mean you’d fall apart?” She asks cautiously.

He sighs, “You can’t exactly erase three years of rejection Marinette. I’m insecure in all of this as it is, I don’t want to think about the last three years and put even more insecurity into that.”

“That wasn’t exactly a onesided thing Adrien.”

“Wasn’t it? I never even knew you were an option... I never even knew you liked me until a few days ago. Any time I tried to ask you about it you told me we were just friends so of course I didn’t try to pursue anything.” He says tiredly, a yawn escaping his lips.

“You don’t have to be insecure about any of this, especially not for the... rejection... Me being Marinette didn’t change things for you, did it?” She asks worriedly, chewing her bottom lip between pauses.

“No, of course it didn’t, but I was trying with Marinette any way. How can things change much at all when I already wanted something with Marinette and had feelings for Ladybug? All it did was make things easier.”

Realization hits her like a gut punch.

“And you’re implying that it’s not that easy for me?” She asks slowly.

“Well _yeah_. I mean, you spent all this time being explicitly clear that you would never ever want to be with me- Chat Noir me- and then you find out my civilian self is the person you’re in love with. That’s gotta sting to find out the person you’re in love with is someone you never wanted like that.”

“I didn’t really think you saw it like that.” Her heart constricts in her chest to think of the way he’s talking about this in comparison to the way he’s been acting. The constant talk of ‘being spoken for’... had that been to compensate for his insecurity in whatever it is they have going?

“Well, I do.” He finally responds after a devastatingly long moment.

“I never thought me not telling you would lead to this, I’m sorry, I’ve been keeping some things to myself that probably would’ve avoided this.” Marinette says apologetically, hand skating from Adrien’s hair to softly cup his jawline, her thumb rubbing patterns into his cheek.

“ _Uh huh_ , what’s that?” Adrien asks, sounding disbelieving, but not unkind.

“Bunnyx took me to the future once, a future where you were akumatized, and you told me our love had done that. You knew my civilian name, blew up the moon, flooded Paris. It freaked me out for ages, scared me to bits about what loving you could cause. I pushed anything down that could be there, because trust me when I say there were times when I thought it would be so easy to love you and how good you’d be to me. I just couldn’t, after seeing that, and it wouldn’t have been fair anyway. Either way, I may have, possibly, been a little bit jealous when you mentioned moving on just a few days ago.” Once Marinette started speaking she couldn’t stop, words tumbling quicker than she has the time to weigh their intensity.

“I’m going to ignore the fact you hid the whole Bunnyx thing from me, but you were jealous of yourself?” She could hear the smile in his voice.

“Stop smiling Adrien Agreste, you hardly have room to speak.” She says, chest warm as her thumb skates over his lips and he presses a gentle kiss to the pad of it.

“I know,” he grins and she can feel it against her thumb, “so what’s these unsavory acts you did?”

The worst part is she doesn’t even know where to start- does she start with the harmless things like her photo wall or throw him in the deep end with stealing his phone?

“Well... you know from Troublemaker when I had all those photos of you up.”

“That’s not weird, bug, I’m a model. It’s not like you were chasing me around with a camera and getting creeper shots.” He snickers and she gently thumps his nose w her finger, then lets her hand fall to rest against his shoulder blade.

“Shut up. I also had like... your schedule memorized and written down. I also stole your phone the day we fought Copy Cat. Oh and-“

“Back up. You  _stole_ my phone? Why?” He sounds bewildered and even Marinette is a little shocked by her own behavior at the time. Thinking about the things she did is one thing, but admitting out loud she literally stole a boy’s phone because she left an embarrassing voice mail... Well let’s say she can hardly miss the person she was three years ago.

“I left you a really embarrassing voice message on accident.” She admits sheepishly.

“And it was so bad you stole my phone.” Adrien says in a deadpan.

“Well, it wasn’t exactly the original plan, but everyone started coming back and I really couldn’t let you hear me call you hot stuff. I think I would’ve died of embarrassment.”

It’s quiet for a moment and Marinette is sure she’s messed this whole thing up.

Then Adrien laughs. Fully, wholly, with the entirety of his chest. Marinette has only heard laughs like this coming from Chat, the full body cackle that could shake walls.

“You called me  _hot stuff_? ” Is all Marinette can hear between his peals of laughter. It’s a damn wonder the kwamis hadn’t woken up and chosen to riot against the two of their holders once and for all.

“Yes, I did, and judging by your reaction stealing your phone was the right choice to make.” Marinette huffs and that only sets Adrien into another fit of laughing. She wants to be annoyed, but his laugh is infectious and before long she’s joining him.

“Okay, okay.” Adrien finally manages to calm down, “Anything else?”

“The girls and I used to come up with crazy plans to get me to ask you out. Code names and stuff.” She admits, the plan with the cart heavy on her mind.

“Pretty tame teenage girl stuff.” Adrien comments.

“Not really, but I’ll take your benefit of the doubt.” Marinette snickers, “I also followed you and Lila that first day, but I guess that worked out after all.”

“That explains a lot, like Ladybug showing up when she did always seemed odd, but I never thought too hard on it.” Adrien admits quietly.

“And then-“

“There’s more?” He asks, sounding shocked.

“Yeah... like a lot more... I’m sorry. I really did act really obsessively over you when I first started crushing on you. I don’t know why it was so hard for me to just act like a normal person.” She admits and her heart aches in her chest, if Adrien had any common sense he would take for the road any second now.

“Huh, well, I guess I can’t fault you. Like you said, you mellowed out over the years. You clearly realize what you did was wrong. How about we just leave it there for tonight, okay? If you feel like talking more about it later we can, but we’ve gotta get up pretty early to handle the Sabrina thing.” He says soothingly, his hand intertwining with the one on his side of the pillow wall.

“Yeah, you’re right. Sabrina doing it still doesn’t make any sense to me though.” She says tiredly.

“It doesn’t seem like her thing, you’re right, but it’s not as if she knew it would go awry like this. I mean looking at the ingredients you would hardly think something like that could cause something like this.” He holds a solid point and Marinette knows it so she just hums back her affirmation, tiredly closing her eyes.

“We’ll figure it all out in a few hours, let’s just go to bed.” He says softly and she can’t agree more.

This time when her eyelids fall heavily, she keeps them closed, and soon she drifts into an uneventful sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to say I’m sorry this took so long and give my excuses, but you’ve all read enough of that throughout this book. To be completely transparent I’m definitely burnt out on this story (and I definitely need a breather away from Miraculous). After all I’ve been writing this book ALMOST an entire year, it’s a wonder I didn’t completely burn out before. Don’t get me wrong, this book will 100% be completed, and my goal is to hopefully finish it before April... but I really can’t promise anything. I’m finishing up my senior year and moving out in a few months so I’m not sure how much time I’ll have to write on top of being burnt out. I’m going to do my best and it’ll get it done eventually, but I just can’t say when at this point. I hope you guys still stick around to see the ending, bc it is so so close (even if it takes me a moment to get there). Thank you all so much for the continued support and I hope everyone had a great holiday.
> 
> As always any comments about what you think/ want to see are greatly appreciated.
> 
> -Bias


End file.
